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Scroll down to read about all the preparations of these six clubs and listen in to each club's coach as they talk about the season ahead exclusively with The Courier.

THE BRIEF

By Giampaolo's own admission, Redan was below its usual standards last year. Granted, injuries weren't kind to the Lions, but they enter the new season with a similar looking list. A host of young players will be asked to lead the club again and its looks to return to finals football.

THE TALISMAN

Cooper Craig-Peters had a breakthrough 2021 season but his personal success may prove to the Lions' detriment. Craig-Peters earned himself a place on Footscray's VFL list, having made his debut late last year. The young onballer was among his side's best in all but one of the eight games he played and was named in the BFNL's team of the year.

THE NEWBIE

Since crossing from Waubra, Lincoln Barnes has had as big an impact off-the-field as he has in the Lions' engine room. The pacey midfielder has overseen the club's pre-season fitness program, drawing on his expertise as a trainer at the RADcentre. Youth combined with elite fitness levels could offer a damaging point of difference for Redan.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"With how the list is coming together, there were really low numbers at the start but it's coming together now. We're starting to get our list back together and blokes are getting excited for footy. The side is going to look very different to what it has in the past, which is a good thing I think."

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"It's difficult to analyse last year considering at one point we had 12 of our best 22 out. It's really hard to say where we would've been if those guys had played. Injuries really took a toll and I know it was similar for a lot of clubs. (With the season) being so stop-start we looked a bit slow at times and probably too defensive."

"The most pleasing thing about pre-season has been our group of young guys, most of them are actually under-17's players who decided they wanted to come and train with us over summer. There's been four or five who have stuck on all the way up to now and even played in our practice match. They're a huge chance to play round one. It's really impressive, we've found some potential stars of the footy club for the future."

THE BRIEF

The Swans were 2021's biggest improver, rising from three-straight bottom-two finishes to qualify for finals for the first time in seven years. Offering confidence to coach Joe Carmody is the fact the advance was driven by the club's youth with notable senior players Andrew Hooper and Josh Gibson missing a large chunk of the season. List consistency with the addition of boom recruits will hold Ballarat in good stead again.

THE TALISMAN

Ballarat is a different beast with Andrew Hooper on the field. While the Swans succeeded when the small-forward was sidelined by a hamstring injury, Hooper's nous makes attacks unpredictable. Hooper bagged 20 goals in the five games he played season, including an influential six-goal haul against 2019 grand finalists Sebastopol on enemy territory.

THE NEWBIE

Aiden Domic arrives with VFL experience on a full-time three-year deal and is tipped to add welcome grunt to an undersized Swans' midfield group. A Mt Clear junior product, Domic was a highly-rated member of a Bell Park team that finished fourth in the Geelong Football League last year.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"We're still want to keep developing in areas that we improved on last season with both our structure and how we defend. Besides the Redan game we were able to keep teams to under 100 points and I think that's something that's kept us in the game a lot longer. For us it's about trying to find that balance between defence but also trying to score more as well."

"Last year definitely changed our goals. But, we realise that we're still relatively young and we still have a lot of development ahead of us. So, even though we made some gains last season that doesn't mean it's going to automatically happen again. It's really important that we are able to continue on and focus on getting the basic fundamental things right."

THE BRIEF

Melton South showed a lot of promise last season, winning back-to-back matches for the first time since 2012, but found its momentum stunted by injuries and in-game lapses of concentration. The Panthers have held on to the core of last year's group and will be hoping a cleaner bill of health can help them try and end an 11-year finals drought.

THE TALISMAN

Dylan Conway arrived with high raps but few expected just how dominant he would be. The former VFL forward kicked 35 goals from 10 games to win the Tony Lockett Medal. Conway is joined in the forward line by old VFL teammate Ben Casley this season, potentially offering more freedom which could lead to another high-scoring campaign.

THE NEWBIE

Rucks are a rare commodity in community football and the Panthers have hit the jackpot with off-season recruit Dylan Jones. The 200cm tall arrives with VFL experience and was a premiership player with St Kevin's and Williamstown CYMS in the VAFA.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"In our practice matches we've finished off games really well which indicates our fitness levels are pretty good. Something we've struggled with, even in pre-COVID years, was our ability to stay in games and hang in there. So, certainly, our pre-season fitness levels seem to much better and we've worked pretty hard.

"We let ourselves down at times last year where we'd get blown out of the water and suffer heavy defeats. Our wins early in the season showed we can mix it with sides. We've just got to be more consistent and make sure our away form as much as anything else is up to scratch.

"We'rec certainly hopeful of having a bit more luck on the injury front. I think last year we ended up using 46 players for 10 games. We're going to make sure if we can we use 30 or 33 players. That's going to make a massive difference."

THE BRIEF

Lake Wendouree enters the new season an unknown quantity. Former Hawthorn and Melbourne tall Jack Fitzpatrick has joined the club for what will be his first season as a senior coach. Fitzpatrick brings first-hand understanding of modern football and has preached consistency, opting to back the Lakers' incumbents instead of an off-season recruitment blitz.

THE TALISMAN

Nick Rippon wasted little time asserting himself on his return to the BFNL, winning the Lakers' best-and-fairest and earning a place in the BFNL's team of the year. Rotating between midfield and the forward, Rippon proved a vital source of goals, bagging a team-high 12 from his 10 games.

THE NEWBIE

Scott Carlin is back in Lakers' colours after a successful stint away that saw him win the Warrnambool and District football league's best-and-fairest. How much the utility is seen remains unknown after the utility earned a place on Geelong's VFL list.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"The big focus of pre-season has just been about connection and getting everyone back together and enjoying playing footy again given the last two years have been interrupted. A lot of its been about getting back into the routine and those kind of things, that's almost been important as what we've actually been doing footywise."

"We want to be an exciting team that plays exciting, fast football. We've very young, that was probably one thing I was surprised about when I started. But, youth and inexperience also brings excitement and a lack of fear. I want to be an exciting team to play for but that being said I'm more than comfortable shutting the gate and winning with a low score if that's what's required."

THE BRIEF

Sunbury rallied late to make finals last season, winning four of its last five games to crack the six. Thankfully for coach Travis Hodgson, the club has enjoyed a more stable pre-season after three of the Lions' best players, including captain Alik Magin and now-Hawthorn onballer Lachie Bramble, leaving on the eve of the 2021 season. Whether stability and momentum culminates in another finals finish remains to be seen.

THE TALISMAN

Tyson Lever was Sunbury's sole representative in the BFNL team of the year and a deserved winner of the club best-and-fairest. The defender was named among the Lions' best in seven of the 10 games he played in his debut season.

THE NEWBIE

Ben Toman will join brother and club captain Daniel at the Lions this season. At 6'3" the former VFL onballer is set to add immediate grunt to an undersized midfield and will offer valued leadership in a young group.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"We've worked pretty hard on what we do without the ball, that's been a big focus. I think we showed in the back half of last year with the way we won that our ball movement was really good, it was probably a strength of ours, but we could have been a bit better without the ball. We've done a fair bit of work on our team defence."

"We're rapt in the improvement we've seen in our 19-to-20-year-olds that got their opportunity last year. You'd probably expect that because they've gone from no games to 10 games (last year) and have another pre-season under the belt. Guys like Riley Milley, Harry Power, there a couple who played every game last year and are pretty much just kicking off their careers because opportunities presented themselves and they grabbed them."

THE BRIEF

Last season's abandonment saved the Cobras from a heartbreaking position, having slipped out the six with a final-round loss. German has a vastly-different list at his disposal this time round. The Cobras have lost a lot of their young, homegrown players but have welcomed experienced senior footballers in their place.

THE TALISMAN

Daniel Burton's quality is well-known but the ruck found another level last season, finishing an equal third in the Henderson Medal count. With another couple big bodies joining the club in the summer, Burton will have the luxury of placing himself where he wants on the park, increasing his impact on games.

THE NEWBIE

Rex Hickman is no stranger to the league having played in Ballarat's 2014 grand final loss. The former Vic Metro representative joins an already star-studded forward line which includes club captain Jake Owen and interleague representative Aaron Willitts. Together, Owen, Willitts, and Hickman, who crossed from the Mallee Eagles, have combined for 148 goals across the past two seasons.

THE COACH'S WORDS

"We felt we made good steps last year. We just want to hit the ground running come round one."

"We had a really good forward line last year in terms of tall targets but we want to improve our scoring rate and not be as reliant on those key forwards. (We want) a bigger spread of goalkickers. A big focus is that we want to get more goals out of our small forwards and midfield as well."

"Some of the new guys that have come on board are really good leaders in their own right. They've been really good on and off the track and they spread from midfield to the forward line and through to the backline. We targeted what we needed in the off-season and we feel like we got that."

Look out for Monday's edition of The Courier for the second part of our 2022 BFNL season preview. The season starts on April 9.

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