The squad was announced by the association on Wednesday via its Facebook page, and featured some old heads along with some new faces to the local rep scene.

It is as follows:

"We wanted to put some more experienced guys in, to give the young blokes a hand and develop them," GDCA rep coordinator, Bob Smith, said.

"That was exactly our intention, was to have a blend of youth and experience, and to blend a few local blokes with some of the ACT-based players.

"The reason being that if we put too many of the local blokes in without some ACT blokes, they're a little bit inexperienced for rep cricket. So it's in their interest to develop with the ACT-based players."

Players such as Brad Smith, Tivey, Cooper, and Watmough have a long history of playing in GDCA rep teams, while Roxburgh is fresh from a stalwart career playing in the Southern Highlands First Grade competition.

Brad Smith, who will captain the side, has played in Canberra since 2019/20. He will be joined by fellow Canberra-based players Wearne, McCarten, Watts, and Whatmough.

With the strength of the current team, Smith believes that the GDCA has a good chance of claiming a first-up victory in its opening Burns Cup clash against Yass on December 12.

"We're quietly confident, we think the team will give a good account of itself," Smith said.

"Our first aim is to win, and our second aim is to help develop the local players. But we think it's a well-rounded team, in terms of experience, youth, and ability.

"We've got to get over the top of Yass, we're assuming they'll be very competitive, and the Far South Coast will be very competitive as well, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves."

Along with the diversity in age throughout the squad, there is also a good balance between batters and bowlers.

The bowling unit in particular features a wide array of styles, including left-arm pace, swing bowlers, legspin and offspin options, and seam bowlers. However, the batsmen have many of their bases covered too, with some capable of blasting bowlers out of the attack, and others adept at wearing down the opposition.

This, Smith said, will allow the team some flexibility on wickets and against opponents with which they are unfamiliar.

"We feel as though we've got the bowling covered pretty well, and we bat right down the order as well," he said.

"Blake McCarten will open the batting and keep, he's keeping very well for Queanbeyan. We think it's a pretty well-rounded side."

The first round of the Burns Cup will take place on December 12 at Victoria Park in Yass.

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