And while there’s a few significant departures from that premiership team, the Burras have recruited well enough to fancy their chances of raising the cup in mid September.

Coach Clive Raak is back at the controls and will no doubt employ a similar motto to the one that was geared around the

Burras making the top four with a healthy list and peaking when it mattered in 2013.

That was evidenced no better than by Hepburn’s 67-point loss in round one at the hands of Waubra, a team that never made it to the grand final. 

But it’s hard to fathom the Roos won’t be there when the whips are cracking this year after a stunning recruiting campaign that has landed a host of big names.

Among those is former St Kilda forward Jarryd Allen - the brother of coach Jason - gun midfielder Jason Delaney, from East Point and ex-Sebastopol captain Malcom Niblett.

They deserve outright favouritism.

Back-to-back grand finalists Buninyong will be shooting to go one better and clinch the club’s first senior flag since 2002.

It’s a feat Joe Gilbert couldn’t reach as coach, but now the reins have been passed to Jarrod Morgan, who has worked hard to maintain a group he hopes is capable of going that one step further.

At this early stage, the other major flag contenders appear to be Springbank and Bungaree. Both have succeeded on grabbing some huge names in the marketplace, while keeping together squads that challenged the best last campaign.

Daylesford, under the well respected Joel Adams for the first time, has a similar list to the one that reached a semi final last year and is sure to have the Bulldogs in contention for much of this season.

The team most likely to break into the top eight might be Learmonth.

A return of a number of key figures from the club’s recent successful period will help an outfit that got so close to the playoffs in 2013.

Skipton again shapes as the best of the former Lexton Plains clubs and a breakthrough Central Highlands finals berth wouldn’t surprise, nor would it for a host of teams that will be fighting out lower-end spots late in the season.

Of those, Dunnstown and Clunes look obvious improvers as Creswick faces an almighty challenge to hold onto its eighth placing from the last two years.