They waved goodbye as their start attackers left for the Wanderers this season, but Lake Albert are confident their new recruits will more than fill the gaps.
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Englishman Beck Frostick has signed on after a decade away from the game, while goal magnet Adam Raso will join the Sharks.
Raso is a league stalwart and comes to the club with an enviable resume, with close to 200 games under his belt and more than 100 first grade goals for Leeton United.
He admitted he no longer enjoyed playing with the club, but said he still respects them after more than a decade playing in first grade.
"I just wasn't really feeling happy at Leeton anymore," Raso said.
"I wanted a bit of a change and Lake Albert have always been a team that I liked and I know a couple of people there.
"Leeton is my home town, I've got a lot of mates there still, and they're a club I'm always going to have respect for."
Only deciding that he'd make the drive to Wagga last week, he has a history of sorts with head coach Chris Ayton.
After an incident in 2022 where a player left the field with a broken leg, Raso was handed a 13-game suspension, and Ayton reached out with his support.
Raso said he's had immense respect for the him ever since.
"I got a pretty hefty suspension for that, but Chris messaged me back then saying he supports me, he knows that it was an accident because he knows what I'm like as a player," Raso said.
"So I've always known who he was and he's always had respect for me, and after that I've always had respect for him.
"It's not often that a rival coach messages saying he supports you."
Having not pulled on his boots for close to two months, he admitted to feeling rusty in his first run with the team in an intra-club match last weekend.
By all reports the playing cohort is pleased to have him on side, and he's happy to be there.
"I was a bit behind the pace and a bit unfit, but they understand that," he said.
"A few of the boys messaged me prior to me joining and after the game on the weekend saying they're so stoked to have me and that they'd rather be playing with me than against me, so it's been really good so far.
"It's good when your team likes your game and appreciates what you can do.
"I already know a lot of the boys, and even the new guys, they seem to get along with everyone almost instantly, and that's when you know it's a good club, when everyone starts bonding pretty early."
He can bat, he can bowl, and he knows how to find goal
Meanwhile, Frostick has built a reputation for himself as St Michaels' star all-rounder, but this season will be the first time Wagga sees him on the rectangle pitch.
Admitting that soccer was his primary sport as a junior, he's excited to be back on the field though it's been a long time between runs.
Outside of a social run during his time home in England, he hasn't played a first grade game in close to a decade.
That hasn't stopped him from slotting right into the semi-finalist's first grade side though.
"I played a lot when I was younger, it used to be my main sport before I went to university," Frostick said.
"Then I put on the kilos at uni, and now my main is cricket, but it's good, I need the fitness as well and I'm pretty happy to be playing."
Linked to the club through keeper and co-captain Rob Fry, Frostick impressed in the intra-club match, scoring twice and assisting for a third.
Adjusting to playing in a more serious competition, he's enjoyed the higher level experience so far.
"It's taken a little bit to adjust because it was so laid back since I've been playing in England, but it has been good, it's something I needed to get into me if I'm playing football," he said.
"I think sometimes I don't enjoy it as much if I'm just playing casually."
Initially planning on spending this winter on the golf course, he isn't disappointed to be playing, in fact he's brought his younger brother Kane alone for the ride too.
The pair have never played senior soccer for the same club, but sideline envy has Kane ready to join the fun.
"It's exciting, Beck has always been gifted in sport, especially at football, he was better at football than cricket when he was younger, so it's exciting to finally play with him," Kane said.
The pair echoed Raso's comments of a warm welcome to the club, and are eager for what they hope will be a strong year.
Ready to take on Yoogali in their first game of the season this weekend, the trio are hoping the good feelings will ride with them throughout the 2024 season.
"I'm 100 per cent excited to be playing, I wish I did decide about a month ago so I'd be more match fit, but I'm definitely keen," Raso said.
Tahlia Sinclair
Tahlia Sinclair is a sports journalist running around Wagga Wagga for The Daily Advertiser.
Tahlia Sinclair is a sports journalist running around Wagga Wagga for The Daily Advertiser.
