The club opted to not participate in Group 10's first grade competition this year, citing concerns about retaining players, the squad's health and enjoyment and the COVID-19 pandemic.

McLeish said the club ultimately made the right decision this year.

"From a club point of view, I'm really, really proud and I think, very content with what's happened this year," he said.

"I really think the proof is in the pudding, the results in the seniors sort of prove that if we had tried to contest the first grade competition, results aside, the welfare of our players was in question."

McLeish said this year was an opportunity for the club to rebuild, while also developing up and coming players.

"[There are] a lot of young blokes there that have just grown from strength to strength this year, which is a lot of the reason why the results have turned late in the season," he said.

"Those young guys have matured in the right way, not being thrown into the gauntlet of first grade footy before their time.

"There's probably three or four guys there who I would have said weren't ready for first grade football this year that I would certainly be happy to throw them into a first grade side next year.

"The growth is there, the maturity is there and as I said, the will and desire to play for the Magpies for the right reasons is also there and a big part of what we set out to do."

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Next year's competition, at this stage, is purely for first grade teams from Group 10 and Group 11 and features a conference system and crossover games before a top eight finals system.

The reserve grade, under 18s, and league tag - set to be known as Championship grade competitions next year - will remain within their existing boundaries and fixtures will be aligned with their club's Western Premiership side.

McLeish said another reason for the club's desire to field a first grade side stems from a connection to a local footy legend, with the Premiership competition to be named in honour of Peter "Ace" McDonald.

"We're already at work for building four grades next year, there will be a couple of announcements about that come out in the next few weeks once we dot a few i's and cross a few t's," McLeish said.

"We're 99 per cent confident we will be fielding a first grade side... [there's] a very big motivation for us to compete in that competition, which is the inaugural Ace McDonald competition in his name.

"We'd love to be competitive but we'll see what we can build on and using this year's success and I don't care what anyone calls it, it's an absolute success this year, to springboard off that to bigger and better things."

McLeish paid tribute to the team's sponsors, who have stuck by the club despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The town just amazes me always," he said.

"We were expecting a bit of a backlash from the sponsors but basically they all held true and we can't thank them enough for that, which led us to what we've done this year.

"They just keep giving and giving and giving.

"We're creating an excellent platform for them as well, so the growth is mutual but if they just basically dumped us, we wouldn't have been able to achieve what we have and we're very thankful for that."

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