The addition of two recruits straight out of the AFL, coupled with the burgeoning excitement surrounding a former Hawthorn forward, has SANFL club Norwood excited to bounce back in 2025.
The Redlegs, who claimed the minor premiership with a 15-win campaign last year, fell at the final hurdle via a five-point loss to Glenelg in the season decider.
The off-season since has been one of change at The Parade, with senior coach Jade Rawlings departing for a role at Fremantle before Jade Sheedy was appointed as his successor.
The South Australian side has also lost Magarey Medal winner Harry Boyd to St Kilda, while star midfielder Baynen Lowe is set to miss a large portion of the upcoming season due to a shoulder injury sustained in his own AFL training stint with the Dockers.
On the flip side, Norwood have moved to acquire talent from the AFL, with former Port Adelaide defender Tom McCallum and Redlegs product Will Rowlands - who spent the past year with Gold Coast - landing at Coopers Stadium.
Rowlands returns to the club after a short stint with the Suns, with the small forward featuring in 16 games for Gold Coast's VFL side before being delisted.
Now back in SA, the 19-year-old looms as a player who "can make a really strong impact" for Norwood in 2025.
"Will's got heaps of talent. He was a Norwood junior, one of the best juniors we put through," Redlegs football boss Richard Kelly told Zero Hanger.
"It didn't quite work out for him on the Gold Coast, but he's come back in a good frame of mind and is training well.
"We can see him playing league footy this year, and all things going well can make a really strong impact for us.
"We know he's got plenty of talent and can find the goals. So somewhere up forward for Will is something he'll be aiming for."
McCallum has joined a growing crop of Tasmanian Redlegs for the coming year fresh out of his two-year stint with Port Adelaide.
The key defender has decided to remain in South Australia and will look to slot into Sheedy's rearguard once he overcomes a shoulder concern.
"Tom's still young in his footy experience, he's had to carry a little bit of a shoulder injury, he's close to full training now," Kelly added.
"He just gives a bit of flexibility for us down back. I think with his height and his running ability, moving up the ground a little bit further is not out of the question either.
"Tommy will probably start down back for us. He just adds a bit of depth to our defensive stocks in a similar vein and role to what Tom Donnelly sort of played for us or what Jack Heard played for us down back.
"So he sort of just adds a bit of depth to that mix for us as well."
Norwood spearhead is another Tasmanian looking to leave his mark in 2025 after a promising two seasons back with the club following his own stint in the AFL.
The 22-year-old booted 31 goals from 17 games to be a key piece in the club's run to the season decider, with the Redlegs keen to see Callow unveil his full potential in 2025.
The SANFL side is also keeping tabs on Callow's younger brother Toby, who has featured for Norwood as a junior and is entering his draft season this year with the Tasmanian Devils in the Talent League.
"Jacko had a great year last year, we're just looking for him to take that next step and hit the scoreboard a bit more," Kelly said.
"His running capability, his contested capability, one-on-one it takes a really good defender to stop him. He had a bit of a knee incident pre-finals last year, but he got through the finals okay and there have been no issues this pre-season. So he's training fully and we're looking forward to a big year from Jacko.
"We're keeping an eye on his brother Toby as well. Toby played some junior footy here and is back in Tassie at the moment playing with the Tassie Devils.
"We'll try and get him across for a couple of games this year if the schedule permits, whether it's U18 level or reserves level."
Norwood will face a Tasmanian representative side in Hobart on Sunday, March 2 as part of their preparations for the 2025 SANFL season, with their opening game of the home and away campaign coming against North Adelaide in Norwood in late March.