Cooper said the squad has been boosted by the return of Alice Astbury, who will compete in her second race for the season after time off.

“Alice has only had one run this year but I expect her to do well in the under-20 events,” he said.

“She may even surprise a few in the women’s gift.”

The squad did not compete at the Rye Gift at the weekend but the group maintained their training loads.

Cooper said they are in good form on the track and did not want that to slip away.

“We had a pretty hard session over the weekend,” he said.

“I am not really sure how they will go but they are running well and expect a few of them to make some finals.”

Riley Taylor will re-join the squad after missing the last event due to work commitments.

Cooper said he expects Taylor to continue his good form on Saturday.

“He should run a good 70-metre race and a fairly good 120m,” he said.

“We have been playing around with his start and tweaked it slightly and I think he has grasped that and will give it a go at this weekend’s meet.”

Paddy Turner will be among the place-getters in the field after finishing third in his last race.

Cooper said the change in distance will not effect his performance.

“The 300m is instead of 400m but I do not think it will impact him either way,” he said.

Cooper is also on the improve after seeing a doctor about his leg injury on Thursday.

“It is starting to come on the mend after the treatment,” he said.

“I have trained twice now and during the Wednesday night session I was comfortable and felt like I had plenty left in the tank.

“I am pretty confident the leg will be right and back on the track for the Ballarat competition in a couple of weeks.”