Marist College Ashgrove will field as many as 10 returning players this weekend in the opening round of the 2021 AIC season.

The perennial champions will start the 2021 season as premiership favourites but coach Brendan Kiernan knows his side won’t have it all their own way in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive competitions in recent memory.

Overview with Brendan Kiernan:

“Like most teams, everyone is in pretty good shape at this stage of the year but I think we’re all really just looking forward to playing a full season,” Kiernan told Rugby News.

“Other than the fact that we missed the opportunity to tour again, it’s been a great preseason. Physically, the boys are in really good shape and we’ve played enough trials to get that much needed match practice during preseason. It’s all looking good for round one.

“Last year was certainly a unique season. For us at Ashgrove, we probably felt like we had some unfinished business after missing out on playing the grand final due to Covid.