Skipper Adam Wells says the South Dubbo Hornets aren't letting the 'honour' of last year's wooden spoon get to them in the lead-up to the start of another season of cricket.
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"We've trained well, we've had a couple of trial games which have been helpful and now we're looking to our strengths," Wells said.
"Some of our younger guys are coming through well, which is good, but the older guys, we'll be looking to them to step up now, guys like Joe Coles and Greg Rummans, who've we got back in first grade, having someone senior to step up and is going to be good for us."
Wells is also finding himself stepping up for the club, taking over the role of captain for Mitch Bower between seasons, but says there's no pressure and things are tracking well.
"I'm feeling pretty good about it, I've done it before at times when we had a couple of guys stepping down and having some time off."
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Souths were hit by a number of departures last year, particularly to their bowling line-up, and the loss of young gun Corey McDean and Bower will hurt, but Wells is confident the club are heading well.
"We're all really happy for Corey, getting to move on to a new chapter in his cricket career," Wells said.
"MItch is getting a bit older now, so having some time away from cricket with his family, it'll give him a bit of time to reflect and maybe come in the new year."
"I'll probably be bowling a bit more this year to help out there, we'll be trying to wind back the clock a little bit."
The club is also gaining a few promising young out-of-town players in the lead up to the season, with players coming from Canowindra and Gulgong to play.
"Jimmy Kuntzee from Canowindra, he's having a good time playing with our senior guys, he's getting a bit older and looking to challenge himself," Wells said.
"Lachlan Rayner, we've got coming from Gulgiong, he actually opened the bowling a bit for us last year and he's learnt a lot from that first season in Dubbo."
While Wells is welcoming the upcoming players, he wants the team to focus on their strengths overall this season.
"We're in a good place, Souths has been strong for the last decade, we've seen three grand finals."