The Dockers will be looking to leave a mark on the South Coast Australian Football League's reserve grade competition when the season kicks off on Saturday, April 13.

The club's brain trust Dave Kwasha, John Dyball and Kimberley Peat are once again guiding the Dockers.

Kwasha and Dyball will share the coaching duties with support from Peat who undertakes a wide range of roles.

The trio think the Dockers, who have been moved up a division, will have a strong season.

Last season's mantra was "one more premiership for the veterans" but this year the main focus is on youth mixed in with a group of senior players who will be running around again.

"We are starting off with a pretty young list and last year we went through 42 players and this year we are starting with 25 players," Dyball said to suggest more players were more than welcome to sign up.

Dyball added the younger players would now be stepping up to take on key roles and positions.

He said the young players ranged in age from 17-years to 23-years and have all come up through the Dockers' junior ranks.

"They are very handy and their bodies are now bigger so they can take on those key roles," Dyball said about the talent within the team

Centre-half-forward, fullback, on-ballers, centre-half back and full-forward are some of the key roles the Dockers' young guns will be taking on.

Kwasha agrees with his fellow coach when it comes to the young talent the club has on its hands.

"These guys, if they get them more football exposure, have all the capabilities of playing premier league I believe," Kwasha said.

Kwasha said he would rule out some of the players playing at an elite AFL level.

"A couple of these guys are very talented athletes," Kwasha said.

The club is still looking for players - go to https://www.facebook.com/Ulladulladockers or kimberleypeat@gmail.com to learn more about playing with the senior Dockers in 2024.

Meanwhile, South Coast AFL has dropped a division this season and Dyball said they are going with the old-fashioned first and reserve grade this year.

"We had to step up because we were very strong last year and the young fellas are looking forward to it," Dyball said

Peat said the club had every reason to be excited about season 2024 and its future in general.

"There is no secret that the last five years have been incredibly challenging for all community sports across NSW and the country on the back of Covid and other things," she said.

"You can now see that people coming back into sport and they went to get out and about

"A lot of the comments from the boys about making the grand final last year was about how good it was to be a part of it - they want to experience that again."

Peat said the players loved being part of the club in general and she can see more players signing on as the season progresses

The trio all say the Dockers is a great club to be around.

They all think the team will be competitive this season - despite being in a higher grade.

"Our goal is to reach the top four and make the finals. We won't dominate like we did last year but I think we will easily be among the top six teams," Kwasha said.

"It's going to be a battle to get into fourth position."

Kwasha, in the meantime, suggests more talent is to come at the Dockers.

"The juniors have been going gangbusters for years and we have these under 16s who are really good - both male and female and they have been winning everything in front of them," he said about the emergence of even more talent.

Pre-season training has been "full on" with lots of fitness and skill work.

The Dockers get to start the season with a home game against Bay and Basin.