While a proud club like Berry not reaching any Shoalhaven District Cricket Club deciders could be seen as a failure, McCarron has taken a long-term view with his group.

"Although we showed plenty of promise, we lacked consistency, especially with the bat, which made the year a little disappointing," Magpies captain/coach McCarron said.

"With the experience we've added to the group and the growth those younger players have shown since the start of last season, we should be in much better shape to start this campaign."

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That experience McCarron alludes to includes bringing back former NSW Country representative Kieran Gray.

On top of that, stalwarts David Crapp, Glenn Brandon and McCarron are slated to play a more prominent role in the first grade setup in 2021-22 along with the experienced Jed Sawkins.

"Kieran is obviously a huge in for us," McCarron said.

"He will be a massive boost to a batting order which struggled last season.

"Having Crappy and Brando on a more permanent basis is great, both are very experienced.

"Then Jed is again going to add quality and depth to the batting side.

"This year is going to be really tough to pick our 11 each week.

"As club coach, that's great for me to see but as a captain, there will be some headaches to deal with when it comes to selections.

"Our approach this year as a club will be on training hard and performing well to grab a spot with both hands - as mentioned we have a squad of 16 so we will all need to work hard to earn our positions."

Joining that aforementioned quintet in the Berry Sports Complex-based club's squad will be Alec Dobson, Jared Mitchell, Dale Lovatt, Dylan Cosgrove, Tom Fletcher, Daniel Troy, James Milne, Cooper Bramley, Max Carr-McCarron, Mitch Downey and Jacob Temple - with the club only losing Andrew Wright, who moved away from the area with the navy.

"We've assembled a really strong squad of close to 16 players this season, so there will be competition for spots, which is really healthy in a group," McCarron said.

"Our depth with both bat and ball puts us in good shape and I honestly believe we have what it takes to push those top side like North Nowra-Cambewarra and Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens - who were easily the two benchmark teams last season.

"Any side that boasts Kieran Gray, David Crapp and Jed Sawkins in their batting lineup should be competitive.

"Throw in a really good mix of experienced players and youth - including Alex, Cooper, Fletcher and Max who won an under 10s competition together and now they are playing together in first grade - it speaks volumes about us as a club and how we have really looked after our juniors."

Of all the players he's excited about this season, McCarron earmarked Dobson, Bramley, Carr-McMarron and Troy for big campaigns this summer.

"Our key batsman this season will be Alec, who is out of juniors now and really class player," he said.

"He had his first year in ones last year and will only be better for the run.

"In terms of bowling, it's hard to point out one, as our attack will be very balanced and include the likes of Cooper Bramley and Max Carr-McCarron, who are both young fiery quicks that have been training the house down together.

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"The other that has looked really impressive and is our x-factor going into the season is Danny Troy - he has so much talent.

"We have a number of all-rounders in the side but Danny has explosive power with the bat and will be crucial through the middle overs with the ball in one-day cricket."

Despite an interrupted preparation, McCarron knows his troops will be ready to go on Saturday when they host Bomaderry.

"Our preparation has been tough with COVID-19 but I think the decision to make all games one-day matches is a really smart one," he said.

"We are lucky in, that while we have a few inclusions, they have all been around the club before, so we should have some continuity and be able to hit the ground running."

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