"We stuck to intra-clubs this year just to focus on game plans, so we haven't had a practice match as such but we've had pretty strong numbers," Rams' president Greg Radford said.

"We've had four or five intra-clubs, which has been a good, solid hit out."

"I think they're pretty valuable actually."

MORE HDFNL FOCUS:

Radford said the club's senior footballers would be aiming for finals again after their 41-point elimination final win over Jeparit Rainbow in 2019.

The club just fell short of making a preliminary final when they went down by seven points to eventual runners-up Noradjuha Quantong, the following week.

Radford believes the club's strong young contingent will be able to fill any gaps the side has and named Dylan Bates, Nick Roach and Nathan Koenig as some players to watch out for.

"With the departure of Jaydon Stiles (Gunnedah Bulldogs) there'll be a little bit more weight on Nathan's shoulders but I'm sure he'll be able to handle it," he said.

"In fact it will give him a lot more room in that forward line.

"And of course Jarrod Combe (coach), he's no slouch either, he goes well, and the other one to look out for is Mitch Riddell (assistant coach) and he's as fit as I've ever seen anyone."

While finals is still their goal, Radford said its not the only indicator of a club's performance.

"Sometimes we have to measure success a little bit differently at Natimuk United," he said.

"We get four football and seven netball teams on for a little town of 550.

"Everyone that wants to play football or netball in Natimuk United gets a game for us and that's really important for us."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: