Bendigo faces its long time foe, Ballarat in the season opener on April 10.

Lady Braves coach Jonathan Goodman said he always looked forward to facing off against their cross-town rivals. 

"We haven't always had the best results against them, but we will be able to measure where we are at in the first round," he said. 

"We have Wodonga in round two, they have a new coach, so it will be interesting to see how they are and then we have a hard match in Nunawading."

Ben Harvey's men have a tough end to the year, with the team having to play four double headers in the final six rounds. 

"With any fixture you just have to deal with it," he said. 

"Other clubs are in the same boat."

Harvey said his team, which includes new recruits Ben Allen and reigning league MVP Tony Lewis to the squad, said he was happy the season started three weeks later then previous years. 

"Those extra weeks gives us more time to prepare," he said. "By the time we get the group together the season will start to creep up on us.

"It is important for us to start well this season."

Both coaches said they will announce more player signings soon.