Recruit Alex Bunton from Canberra Capitals is never going to be more important than early in the season while the Miners settle their roster. Picture by The Canberra Times.

Ballarat Miners have the toughest possible start to the new NBL1 South women's season.

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They face reigning champion Bendigo Braves first-up at Selkirk Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Miners are still finalising their 10-player roster for the season, with two Australian players with overseas experience set to fill the final two spots.

Ballarat also goes into the season without marquee recruit and import Mehryn Kraker, who is visiting her family in the United States.

She arrives from WNBL team Bendigo Spirit, where she has been playing under new Miners coach Kennedy Kereama, but will miss the opening five games.

There will still be a strong Bendigo flavour right across the court in the first round fixture.

Kereama has also recruited Micah Simpson and Ella Gordon from the Spirit after spending the WNBL season as development players.

Then there is hometown product Abbey Wehrung, who has returned for another season after also playing with Bendigo in the WNBL.

Ballarat had a tough time of it last season.

The Miners had just three wins in a long campaign and Kereama has worked hard in the off-season to rebuild the top end of the women's elite program.

He said with the roster coming together late, the first month of the season would in many ways be like a pre-season as the team found its feet.

Kereama said while Wednesday night was a massive challenge, the Miners were not shying away from it.

Ballarat was not surprisingly a long way of the pace in its two meetings with Bendigo last season and it could not be harder way to begin the year.

With the full roster still coming together, it is undoubtedly going to take time to settle and plenty of patience will be required.

Wehrung, who won the the Miners' most valuable player award last season, and signing Alex Bunton are going to have to play major roles in the early weeks.

Bunton has a wealth of experience, with the 30-year-old arriving straight from Canberra Capitals in the WNBL.