But not Grant.

He is set to enter his eighth season with Sydney FC, and despite his age, he starts the A-League competition as the side's longest serving continual player.

Alex Brosque and Ivan Necekski were both with the senior squad when Grant debuted, but at various stages have had stints elsewhere since, while Vedran Janjetovi played in the club's youth team alongside Grant nine years ago.

"It makes you feel pretty old when you think about it that way. We have a pretty young squad in general, so even though I'm only 24, I feel like one of the senior guys," he said.

"I'm actually the fines master this season, so I get to have a bit of fun responsibility with that, starting arguments and stitching a few of the other boys up."

Sydney start their new season this weekend against Melbourne City and for both Grant and the team, there is a lot to look forward to.

On a personal level, the defender will be out to build on an encouraging end to the 2014-15 competition, which saw his side make the grand final before losing to Melbourne Victory.

Prior to that, Grant missed a year of soccer having torn his anterior cruciate ligament.

"Being out for that long, it means getting back near your best is going to take some time. But towards the end, I felt like I was back somewhere close to where I was before the injury," Grant said.

"The off-season was good for me, we had a later finish than most clubs to last season because we made the grand final but the break was good, and our pre-season has been pretty impressive too.

"We've had some trials to blow out the cobwebs and based on those, I'd say things are looking good."

Sydney coach Graham Arnold has added some forward strike power with the acquisition of New Zealander Shane Smeltz from Perth, while Serbian midfielder Milos Ninkovic will also strengthen their squad.

They will need it, with an Asian Champions League (ACL) campaign to come later in the season.

"Arnie [Arnold] has uncovered some good players from overseas who have been exceptional so far in what we've seen of them," Grant said.

"It is always risky to bring guys over that haven't played here before, but he's definitely done his homework with these blokes and he is going to have a hard time settling on a starting line-up. I don't know if I'll even be in it.

"Last season we had a good squad and I believe we have a better one this time around.

"We were one of the teams that set the benchmark on the way to the grand final, it was disappointing to lose but we're determined to go one better. That's where the focus is at the moment.

"Arnie has added all these extra players because he knows he will need that depth when it comes to the ACL and the Football Federation of Australia Cup, but the immediate focus is on getting a good start in the A-League."

Grant has some country company in the squad this year with the elevation of former Western NSW footballer and Sydney FC youth leaguer Jacob Tratt to the senior squad.

The Dubbo youngster has been prospering with the senior squad and Grant is delighted - though he is wary.

"Tratty actually plays the same position as me, so I don't want him to go too great," he joked.

"This is his first year on a senior contract, he's had a few with the youth team and captained them to a title win. I've definitely been trying to look after him a bit, us country boys have to stick together.

"He's done really well so far training with the first team and he definitely wouldn't look out of place if he is picked to play early this season."