WITH THE 2022 rebel VFL Women's competition just around the corner, Senior Coach Tom Stafford is closing in on ticking off his first pre-season in the top job.

After spending two seasons with the side as an assistant, Stafford has relished taking the reins and couldn’t be more excited for the season proper to be underway.

“I'm all about a positive, enjoyable and welcoming environment and I think as a team, we've really executed that and I’m really, really excited about the season ahead,” Stafford said.

“The core playing group came back and we've also had some new faces which have been added and the commitment from the players and the coaching staff so far has been really professional.”

For Stafford, the first call to action of the pre-season was to bring the group together after an extended period apart.

"It was looking at just creating a really good environment, a positive place," he said.

"The girls had been away from each other for a long time and had to cope with disruption so we had to squeeze in a lot of team-building exercises.

“We had a pre-season camp a few weeks ago, which I thought really galvanised the girls."

From pre-season camp to practice games, Stafford has been nothing but impressed by the progress the Blues have made.

“We've had two practice games and really positive results," he said. 

"I haven't been particularly worried about the scoreboard in those games and more how we've gone about it as a group and I think that we've executed the things that we've really emphasised and focused on in the pre-season, which is really pleasing.”

A number of players have caught Stafford's eye throughout the pre-season, citing returning Blues Jorja Borg and Amelia Klingbeil as ones to watch, while the fresh faces of Lily Goss, Madeleine Di Cosmo, Laura Robertson and Vanessa Murphy have also made an impression.

Perhaps most pleasing to Stafford has been the versatility the list has shown - a factor which may prove important given the shifting nature of the current sporting landscape.

“It's all about being adaptable, which I mentioned to the team on jumper presentation night last week," he said.

"Whatever curveballs come our way, whether that's on-field or off-field, we need to be adaptable.

"We're a development-based program and we want to make these girls the best footy players they can become and part of that is increasing their skill set and playing a number of positions on the field."

The first challenge awaits the Blues this weekend, when they take on Geelong at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds on Saturday afternoon in their season-opener.

 “It doesn't get much tougher, playing away in Geelong against last year's grand finalists, but what a challenge," he said. 

"I think the girls are ready and whether it's Round 1, Round 7 or the last game of the season, four points are on the line and I'm really confident that the playing group is really excited about the task and I think we should go in confident.”