Coach: Tim Partridge

Last year: 8th (2 wins, 14 losses, 308 points for, 695 against)

Arrivals: Bailey Mason (returning injury), John Conrnelius (rugby league), James Green, Simone Corfe-Vuniwaqalevu, Tariq Miles, Harold Rosso (Army), Sam Harris (returning), Luke Reece (Denman RL) Jareth Mackay (NZ), Ben Caskey (Northern Territory), Matt Ferguson (Maitland), Bailey Thomas (Inverell), Tyrone Gersch-Mizen (Orange), Simon Abel (NZ)

Departures: Aaron Brennan (year off), Dillon Rowney (not playing), Cooper Harris (Maitland RL), Kemble Frost (Canberra), Tiwana Thompson-Paringatai, Shade Tuaine-Whanau (returning NZ), Hayden Shepherd (Nelson Bay)

You have served a long apprenticeship, are you excited at the opportunity to steer a first grade team?

Coaching first grade is something I have been working towards. I started with Hunter junior teams and won three NSW Country titles and a State championship. At Merewether, we won a colts comp and I had the Hunter under-20s with Steve Merrick for two years and two years on my own. Last year I assisted Steve with first grade in Singleton. I have been fortunate to get Craig Bates, who played in the golden era in the 90s, as my backs coach. I like to play a very simple game. We have a lot of knowledge in the senior guys and I am certainly tapping into that. From there, we will add layers as we progress. The pre-season has been strong. We have identified areas that need work and are working on them hard.

Last season, the Bulls were very competitive early but fell away once injuries took hold and the depth was stretched. How have you combated that?

Last year we came within a point of Hamilton and within a try of Merewether, but then in the middle of the year we had 15 injuries. The difficulties we had with depth last year have been resolved. We have been able to recruit a number of players, mainly through employment opportunities. We have an apprenticeship program running and signed Bailey Thomas from Inverell, a lock/backrower who played NSW juniors. Simone is a big, powerful winger who is in the Newcastle side and came to us from the army and brought three mates. Jareth McKay is an experienced Kiwi prop who has played in Europe. Simon Abel is a back-rower and alongside fly-half Tyrone Gersch last played in Canada. We are also pretty excited about the quality of local guys, like Luke Reece and Sam Harris, who have come back. There are others who are also coming. A well as the recruits, the under-18s will have a squad of 24 players, and there is some exciting players among them.

What style of game to you hope to play. Will it be a forward-orientated or will you look to shift the ball to the edges?

We will look to play for field position, but we will also have strike power out wide. Last year we didn't have the luxury of a settled backline. With the numbers we have this year, we hope that will be the case. Plus we have genuine competition for places. We are looking like a genuine club again. We are getting 35-40 guys regularly at training.

Tim Partridge steps up after a highly successful coaching career in juniors and colts. He was a part of Steve Merrick's staff last year and knows exactly what the Bulls require. Again they have recruited heavily. Jareth McKay looks a like-for-like replacement for scrum anchor Kemble Frost. Rapine Mason will direct a backline that has been injected with speed and skill. They have a natural finisher in Fijian Simone Corfe-Vuniwaqalevu and Luke Reece and Sam Harris played Country 20s. The biggest differences from last season will be competition for places. They showed in patches last season what they can compete with the top sides. I expect them to take another step this season.