Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes claimed a couple of comfortable victories against Barellan and Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock in their first trial games ahead of the upcoming season.
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The Goannas hosted the Two Blues and Saints at Mangoplah Sportsground on Saturday night and MCUE coach Nelson Foley was really pleased with the efforts put in by their extended senior squad.
"It was really just a chance for us to get a little bit of run in the legs of our whole squad," Foley said.
"It actually worked out really well having the other two clubs come down as we ended up going in with a squad of 50.
"So to get run in the legs of 50 blokes was a real win for us and from a coaching point of view I was just really pleased to see our game style coming together at this time of the year.
"They'll be scrappy moments and the skills aren't going to be up to scratch, but what we can get from games at this time of year is seeing whether the boys are buying in and clicking to the game style that we are trying to implement.
"I walked away from last night absolutely certain that we are on the right track."
The Goannas were well served by a couple of familiar names and Foley was also pleased with the efforts of some of the younger players at the club.
"Our midfield was really impressive," he said.
"Guys like Lachy Kendall, Harry Fitzsimmons and both Ethan and Sam Schiller spent a lot of time through there.
"They had a big workload last night, but I was really happy with how they went.
"Doug Arthur picked up where he left off last year with some brilliant form on the wing and he was complemented by Charlie Spackman on the other wing.
"We had some really promising signs from our young forwards and also some guys that haven't played a lot of senior footy up to this point but are definitely pushing their claim for early selection in guys like Brandon Fisher and Riley Cole."
Foley also revealed there were a couple of strong performances from players that potentially caught him a little off-guard.
"Brandon Fisher and Will Seymour both got a good chance to run through the back line and I think they stood up and played really well," he said.
"They both showed really clear signs that they are buying in to our system and I thought they were pretty good with ball in hand.
"Then some of the young boys in Sunny Martens, Harvey Brown and Otis Irvin got some good playing time with the senior side that we put out early on.
"I thought they all stepped up to the level really well and then another one would be Bailey Jones who's coming back from a couple of years on the sideline.
"He doesn't look to have missed a beat so I was really happy with how he slotted back in."
The Goannas were also able to get through the night without any injury troubles.
MCUE will head to Mulwala next weekend to take on the Murray Football League premiers in their next trial game ahead of their Good Friday clash against Wagga Tigers.
Foley said they would look to take a smaller squad down for the clash against the Lions and added they were hopeful of also playing an under 17's game.
