The Rats finished seventh on the WFNL ladder in 2021, recording five wins and seven losses across the season.

Head coach Matt Walder said the club's "key aspiration" was to get a double chance this season.

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"We were closing the gap as the season went on last year with such a young list," he said.

"With the extra development in the young boys and the top up recruits we would like to think we would be playing in the back end of the season."

Walder said he wasn't reading too much into last season's finish and believed in the club's system.

"From last year to this year there hasn't been a massive change in the approach to our pre-season or our programming," he said.

"We need to remember that last year was largely interrupted and the year before we didn't play.

"It is just more about reinforcing what we did right last year."

Walder said getting games into a number of new faces in 2021 was a blessing in disguise for the club.

"We have retained most of our playing list from last year," he said.

"We have topped up with some select recruits and combined with I think 10 debutants and I think the majority of them played most of the season.

"They now have their second pre-season under their belt and they will obviously develop their football more in their second year of senior footy."

Walder said he expected the club's off season recruits to have an immediate impact.

"Liam Cavanagh will help out the youngsters down back with his leadership, he will be the general for us," he said.

"Ben Taylor will add a spark to our midfield as well as Matt Hutchesson.

"They are in their football prime."

In order to rise up the ladder, Walder said improvement will be needed from within and the club is confident a host of players have scope to go to the next level.

"Watch out for Brody Griffin to back up an excellent season last year," he said.

"Riley Taylor is coming off an injury interrupted year last year so I would suspect if he gets a free run at it he would have a good season."

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