The Singleton Roosters are ready to begin a fresh campaign in the women's Black Diamond Cup following the bus tragedy that rocked the club last year.
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Coach Jackson Channon has called the 2024 season a "rebuilding year" for the Roosterettes.
The Hunter club was forced to forfeit multiple games in the weeks after the crash but the women made an emotional return a month afterwards. The men's Cup team merged with the lower-grade Shield side, who also returned to play in July.
The women are back this season, as are a men's team in the Shield competition.
"The girls have been really resilient," Channon said.
"They were eager to get back on the park last year and do everyone proud, because they knew that's what the girls would have wanted.
They got here in early December to start pre-season and we've had really good numbers.
Everyone has been putting in work and we haven't really looked back since."
In his first year as coach, Channon said he had been buoyed by the response from last season's players, and a few new additions.
"In November, I got on the phone to a lot of people and wanted to know where they were with footy and what they wanted to do," he said.
"Obviously after last year it was all still pretty raw to them, so just to say that 'footy is here, if you're keen', and I'm glad that most girls have turned around and said: 'Yep, I'm keen to keep going'."
The experienced Neisha MacPherson will captain.
"It's definitely a rebuilding year," Channon said.
"We're trying to transition a lot of the girls from the under-17s. So we're just trying to build from what he had last year, and go forward."
Channon added: "The numbers are pretty similar to last year.
"We've got a whole lot of new starters too.
"We've got a few debutantes, some girls coming up from the under-17s ... and we've also got four or five girls who have never played footy before ... and a few other girls who have come back or come from other clubs."
Last month, Singleton hosted the Bush to Beach pre-season women's tournament, won by Terrigal Avoca.
Launched a year earlier, six teams participated in 2024 and Channon said the club hopes to expand the event further in coming years.
"The biggest hope that we have going forward in the next three to four years, is maybe even a two-day tournament somewhere and have all the women's teams in the competition, and some from outside to be a part of it," he said.