The Murray Bombers - who reached the 2019 grand final - will welcome energetic and youth-laden outfit Seymour in an opening-round bonanza.
The Lions will be without star midfielder Jason Cole who is recovering from injury, while gun onballer Zac Keogh has departed for Kyabram.
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When the sides lock horns come 4 pm on Saturday, Echuca co-coach Simon Maddox expects his charges will face a foreign entity to what they last faced in 2019.
But the experienced mentor said the focus remained solely on his charges.
“We will give them as much respect as we give any side, irrelevant of who is playing,” Maddox said.
“But we prefer to focus on our own backyard, on how we play and what we can do well.
“We've seen in our practice matches that we are capable of playing some great footy, and we will continue to work on delivering that kind of play.”
Seymour coach Ben Davey revealed during the week the emphasis at Kings Park over pre-season had been laying down a platform for the club's next generation.
“Our big focus has been on recruiting local juniors to build our base around,” Davey said.
“Because that's where our future lies, we need to bring in the young talent and build around them.
“We have no ceiling on what we can achieve, it's an exciting time for the club."
Headlining the Lions’ list of promising talents is Hudson Kaak.
The former Murray Bushranger has battled injuries in recent seasons, however, the young forward enters 2021 at 100 per cent and ready to fire.
Kaak is joined by VFL-listed youngsters Dylan Cook and Sam Durham, while former Assumption College student Jack O'Sullivan joins the Lions to play with a host of his mates.
O'Sullivan comes out of the Calder Cannons NAB League program and will fill the space left by Keogh.
“We are a young and talented outfit, people can expect us to be quick and play fast football,” Davey said.
“We will get an idea of where we are at this weekend, we know Echuca will be a good challenge on their home deck in front of a packed crowd.
“But whatever happens we will be better for it in the run.
“We can't wait to get out there and enjoy footy again.”
Echuca followers can expect their side to match Seymour's run-and-carry on Saturday.
Maddox highlighted that his side would be electric and dynamic on the field, but onlookers should expect to see some rusty players after a long break.
“We know that the layoff will impact every side, and we hope that by four to six weeks into the season we are playing our best football,” he said.
“We also have a few guys who have missed practice matches and won't yet be at their best, but that will come as they get more time on the park.
“But naturally we are going out there with the intention of playing our best football.
“We have a young side, a team who will be fast and dynamic and that will put us in a good position for the year ahead.”
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