Lavington will play with heavy external expectations for the first time since its last premiership five years ago.
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The Panthers have landed the recruit of the season if not, potentially, the last 25 years in former New Zealand Test paceman Daryl Tuffey.
Opening batsman Matt Tom is also a Lake Albert (Wagga) premiership player, while another top order player in Andrew Taylor is hoping to overcome a football-related injury.
The Panthers have been a perennial finalist since toppling St Patrick’s in the 2012-13 grand final.
But the club lost a number of players and hasn’t carried the same expectation.
Lavington did remarkably well to contest last year’s grand final, only pipping St Pat’s for the final spot in the finals with three balls left in the regular season.
However, a batting collapse cost it against Wodonga in the decider.
“We need to get more consistency out of a potentially strong batting line-up,” coach Robbie Mackinlay said.
