Buoyed by a three-time AFL premiership player and with young guns ready to run riot, Ballarat is backed to rise up the ladder on the Ballarat Football Netball League's return.
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In an exclusive The Courier readers poll, 23 per cent of votes went the way of the Swans when we asked who the biggest improvers of the season would be.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Ballarat's chances.
Josh Gibson - regarded as one of his generation's best defenders - will shore up a young backline and release pressure on assistant coach Andrew Hooper.
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Hooper bagged a league-high 41 goals in 2019, and with Gibson's experience set to ease matters on game day, the former Western Bulldog could be in line for a bigger haul this season.
Ballarat managed just three wins and finished 10th on the ladder in 2019.
The Swans narrowly edged out Bacchus Marsh, who collected 19 per cent of votes.
The Cobras won six games and finished eight in 2019 but enter the new campaign buoyed by gun recruits and the excitement of the unknown.
Once on the books of Essendon, coach Tom German is hoping to create a fast, reliable brand of footy and has topped up with the arsenal to make that possible.
Ryan Bartlett followed his coach from Mansfield and joins the Cobras as a key defender and backline coach.
Bartlett brings state league experience from his time with Sturt in the SANFL and alongside new key forward, Jaidyn Owen, provides a foundation the Cobras hope can lead them to finals.
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