by Mat Churchill

Still recovering from a shock defeat in the 2010 Cairns AFL Grand Final, the Port Douglas Crocs are keen to make amends with preseason training just around the corner.

After a longer than usual post-season break, coach Andy Viola hopes the team will still be refreshed at the business end of the 2011 season.

"We lacked a bit of grunt at the end of the season, it was a long year," he said.

When asked what areas the team would focus on improving he quipped "Improve on winning one more game."

The Senior and Reserve teams took different paths to make the 2010 finals with the Seniors not dropping a game though the home and away season, while the Reserves overcame a slower start to build momentum in the second half of the year to storm into the Grand Final.

"The club had a great year. We wouldn't have envisaged having two teams in the Grand Final at the start of the year," said Crocs president, Scott Ewert.

While recruiting continues over summer, and no new big name players locked in at this stage, the club may look to their younger players for improvement.

"We've got a pretty good junior base," Andy said. "There's good depth with the kids and we're hoping they'll take another step next year."

Crocs' skipper, Evan Hocking, has identified three such players who he believes can have a positive influence in 2011.

"Max Petrack is a backman who only played one senior game in 2010 but played a few the year before, Joel Lawlor has been bulking up a bit, and Mitch Nicholson had a few problems with his hamstrings in 2010.

"A few guys will probably realise that when it comes to finals they'll need to step things up a bit," he said.

Off the field it things look bright with all the major sponsors, The Court House Hotel, Sun Palm, Quicksilver, Aristocat, Rydges Sabaya, and Mossman Butchery signing on to support the 2011 campaign.

Preseason training commences on Friday, 14 January from 5pm, and with conditioning coach Mark Fletcher on board from day one, it's sure to be a challenging period for players hoping to take that elusive final step in September.

In a Grand Final rematch, the Crocs will take on Cairns Saints in the first round of the season which takes place at Cazaly's on 26 March.

Those interested in pulling on the boots and running onto the lush turf of the Croc Pit can call Andy Viola on 0400 210 967 or Darren Wall on 0400 040 804.