How Oak Flats are primed for a charge at the 2024 District League title

The Falcons have unveiled two new co-coaches and a host of exciting recruits as they prepare to build on last year's third place finish in the championship race.

Shellharbour proved unassailable at the top in 2023, while Fernhill also enjoyed a strong season, with Oak Flats ending their campaign as the next best side. That effort came after they mustered another top-five finish in 2022.

However, the club is confident that Chad Bishop and Brenton Burke are the men that can take the Falcons to the promised land. The pair were in charge of Oak Flats' second grade program last year, leading the team to a grand final victory last September.

They will now mentor the club's top-flight side, taking the reins from Nathan Minutillo.

"Burkey and I did reserve grade there last year, so we sort of had an outside view looking in on who we wanted to keep," Bishop told the Mercury.

"We pretty much invited everyone back, it wasn't a thing of just getting rid of guys because, looking at the squad last year, they finished third in the league and made the semi-finals. So looking at it, they didn't have much to improve on.

"We sat down and looked at where we could improve, and there were a couple of positions that were empty."

Oak Flats' biggest priority heading into this year's District League was recruiting a quality left-foot talent.

Bishop believes that they've rectified that issue after recruiting Joel Perry from Illawarra Premier League outfit Tarrawanna.

"We didn't have a genuine left-footer. So that was top of our list, to get a left-footer into the club, and we were lucky enough to sign Joel. He's going to be a massive signing for us moving forward," he said.

"A few other guys then showed some interest in us. We were chasing guys, but we were also getting phone calls asking 'do you have room for me'?"

Among those key new recruits is goalkeeper Claude D'Alessio, who has come across from fellow District League club Berkeley Sports. Oak Flats has also secured former IPL talents Taylor Harvey and Sam Munro.

Re-signing players was another key for Bishop and Burke, with the likes of Trent Thompson, Jamie Stevenson, Luke Day, Josh Eagleton, Jamie Wakeling and Todd Sparks to remain at Keith Bond Oval in 2024.

Their biggest loss is Boden Allport, who is heading to Coniston, while gloveman Jacob Hufton has also departed the Falcons.

"We've pretty much kept the core (of the squad). We've kept eight or nine from the starting 11 last year and we've recruited what we've needed," Bishop said.

"We've lost a couple and we've gained a couple, so it's balanced things out. We're happy with the squad we've got, but it's now about tinkering with getting the guys right and gelling together in the right positions."