The Miners make their debut at the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre against the Pioneers on Saturday, a game that always seems to hold extra significance to Ballarat fans, players and coaches.

READ MORE SPORT:

"There's a rivalry, straight up. The rivalry is between us, Geelong and Albury being the country teams in NBL1," Joyce said.

"The bottom line is we want to be the number one country team for sure. We were two years ago and we want to be that again this year."

The Miners have the wood over Bendigo, winning their last three match-ups.

The most recent of those was a tight 88-84 win in 2019.

The side will be strengthened by the return of Melbourne United player Sam Short, who will make his season debut after re-committing to the team on Thursday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm, immediately following the Rush from 6pm.

ALICIA FROLING will meet some familiar foe when the Rush take on the Bendigo Pioneers at the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre.

Froling is a member of the Bendigo Spirit in the Women's National Basketball League.

She said she'll come up against some coaches and teammates who are members of the Bendigo Braves in the NBL1 South.

"Mark Alabakov, the head coach for the Braves was an assistant coach (with the Spirit), Cassidy McLean was my teammate and my roommate for a lot of that WNBL season, so there's a bit of stuff there," she said.

"Then of course the young ones like Piper Dunlop and that. I'm excited to see them but also excited to get a win."

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.

Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.