Players like Yates, Semple and Davidson especially seem to be different players with a bit of confidence.
McKeown was a loss, but don't forget he let in 4 at Droylsden and 3 vs Gainsboro. Murphy has been a bigger loss -not just losing his presence in the middle, but losing Canners from his stronger position of full back.
We've had too many players who have had to play whilst carrying injuries - might have got away with that last year, but this league is stronger.