The Panthers won just two-and-a-half games in 2015 and often failed to match the big boys when push came to shove.

Entering his second season at the helm, coach Mark Pederson said the club’s primary focus was to no longer be a pushover.

“In the past we've come up against a Darley or a Redan and just couldn't compete with them – we played North Ballarat last year and just couldn't get our hands on the ball,” Pederson said.

“We need to get competitive this year, then we’ll grow from that. Our win-loss ratio, we don't know what it will be at this stage but when people come to watch us play, they'll be able to watch us play a good brand of football.”

Pederson was coy about revealing which recruits the Panthers have lured over the off-season.

However, he said that attracting key position players to the club was seen as a priority.

“For the first time in a long time, we're not going to have a problem with height,” Pederson said.

“The side has been run over in the fourth quarter over the last couple of years, and part of that is the big fellas not getting any shorter as the game goes on. We had no spine last year.”

The club has been highly selective in securing new talent, placing an emphasis on whether or not they would fit the culture that Pederson had been quick to establish since taking the head coaching role.

“Culture is the most important thing at a football club,” Pederson said. 

“You're not buying these players – you're selling the club to them and they have to believe in what you are trying to do.”