Last year: 7th - 7-9

Arrivals: Alex Banko, Oliver Banko, Sam Banko, Harrison Booth, Tom Gill, Brendan March, Cameron Ross, Lewis Thomas, Jake Wilson, Mac Whittle.

Departures: Tom Broadbent, Shaun Everington, Deon Jones, Josh Metherell, Brad Rohde.

Player points: 43

Last flag: 2016

First month:

R1: v Pyramid Hill (a)

R2: v Maiden Gully YCW (h)

R3: v Inglewood (a)

R4: v Calivil United (h)

Past five years:

2018: 7th - 7-9

2017: 2nd - 13-6

2016: 1st - 18-0

2015: 1st - 17-1

2014: 1st - 18-0

Last season's MVP top 5:

Joseph Mayes - 37

Peter Rothacker - 34

Liam Jacques - 33

Daniel Nalder - 23

Tristin Nalder - 21

Last season's top 5 goalkickers:

Darren Clutton - 45

Josh Metherell - 24

Alex Powell - 22

Tom Broadbent - 14

Liam Jacques - 12

Q and A with coach Dale Cameron

How has the pre-season been at Bridgewater coming off the club's first year out of the finals since 2006?

"There has been a real buzz among the group because we're so young. We've brought in a lot of young recruits, so we're going down the youth path, which we need to do.

"We've been getting plenty to training and there's plenty of excitement for the year ahead with a different direction.

"We think we've got a really good core of young guys with the likes of Liam Jacques, Peter Rothacker, Joey Mayes, and we think we'll have some good height by getting Cameron Ross and Alex Banko on board."

What are the main aims you hope to get out of the season for Bridgewater?

"The club has got a lot of youth and we're going to have a lot of speed in the team, which is really exciting.

"With a young side you're going to have your ups and downs and it's just about getting that confidence as a group and as a team... that's how we'll be going about the year ahead."

With so many young players at the club, who are some who have you really excited about what they can provide the team?

"There's a number of them. Liam Jacques and Peter Rothacker are two I've already mentioned who are great young players.

"But there's also Tom McKinley, who won the under-18 league medal last year, and Archie Conway who I'm really keen to watch grow in their first year of senior footy.

"Alex Banko is another to look out for as well and Joey Mayes and Jake Rusbridge are a couple of younger guys who are in the leadership group."

Summary

All clubs need to go through a rebuild at some stage and that's the phase Bridgewater is in as it sets about putting the building blocks in place for its next run of success.

Off the back of its first year missing the finals since 2006 it will be a team stacked with youth that takes the field for the Mean Machine in 2019 under second-year coach Dale Cameron, who predicts the average age of his side to be around 24.

Much of the talent that was at the core of the Mean Machine's LVFNL record run of seven flags in a row between 2010 and 2016 is no longer at the club.

One of those still there, though, is seven-time premiership player Darren Clutton who will this year tick over the 200-game mark at the club and was last year a revelation when switched to permanent forward and kicked 45 goals - the only Bridgewater player to kick more than 25.

Five-time premiership player Ben Galea also remains at the club, while Cameron says he's still "working on" veteran defender Daniel Nalder (six flags) and Tristin Nalder (six flags) is recovering from a shoulder reconstruction.

Having for so long being the yardstick in which opposition teams tested themselves against, this year it will be case of the Mean Machine gauging their development against the likes of Newbridge, Mitiamo and Maiden Gully YCW.

Six-time premiership ruckman Josh Metherell has retired, with the Mean Machine bringing in ruckmen Cameron Ross from Marong and Alex Banko from Castlemaine among their recruits for a season that faces a challenging start with a pair of first-up games against Pyramid Hill and Maiden Gully YCW.

Practice matches - v Wedderburn (March 16 at Bridgewater), v Elmore (March 23 at Elmore).

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Coach: Shellie Davies and Jessey Wilson (first year)

Last year: Premiers

Arrivals: Zoe Davies, Ellie Wilson, Carly Scholes, Brigette Matthews, Olivia Collicoat.

Departures: Olivia Treloar, Emily East, Meg Allen, Ashlee Donnan.

Coaching panel: Jessey Wilson and Shellie Davies (A and B-grade); Tamara Hayes and Alison Walsh (C-grade); Leah Sartori (17-and-under); Caz Wood (15-and-under); Madeline Langley (under-13); Georgia Mamouney-Brown (under-13 assistant).

Last five years: Premiers (2018); fifth (2017); fifth (2016); fifth (2015); fourth (2014).

Q and A with joint coach Shellie Davies

It's a new look Bridgewater in some regards. How has your preparation been for the premiership defence?

"Jessey and I haven't had our full set of players on the court yet - and we won't until the first round - but at least everybody will play a game sometime. But there is a great vibe around the girls - they're really happy and have worked incredibly hard. They have been going twice a week since the end of January - I am really happy with their fitness. That fitness is definitely showing on the court. Zoe (Davies) is a big inclusion for us and she is going to be taking on a mentoring role with our defenders in both A and B. I think she will lift the other players."

Looks like you have a fair component of players stepping up from the B-grade team, which has won three-straight flags. You are confident they can handle the step up?

"I am and they have taken the step up. Our practice match against Huntly was a bit of a tougher one, being the first hit-out and the first week we actually started court work. They didn't start as well, but they finished the game nicely. Our game against Eaglehawk, we matched Eaglehawk very well. It was really good to watch and they all looked confident and performed incredibly well."

You've gone with a joint coaching set-up which has worked successfully at several clubs in recent times. How is the partnership with Jessey Wilson panning out?

"It's been really good. It's nice just to have someone who can take care of certain areas and be able to bounce ideas off. As the season goes on I really want to see how she goes with training. She has been great with the girls and is just a natural leader. One thing we have wanted to work hard on is the club culture and being more inclusive as an entire club with no segregation between the teams and it's worked out very well."

SUMMARY

Bridgewater will have a new-look - both on and off the court - as it embarks on its premiership defence.

The makeover begins at the top where experienced mentor Shellie Davies and star midcourter Jessey Wilson have taken over the coaching reins from 2018 premiership boss Claudia Powell.

The changes extend to on-court, with only three players from the grand final line-up - Wilson, Leah Sartori and Anita Dorrington - returning for the title defence.

However, the Mean Machine have been bolstered by the inclusion of star former Eaglehawk and Kangaroo Flat defender Zoe Davies.

Best-on-court in last season's Victorian Netball League championship division grand final for champions City West Falcons, Davies is one of the biggest names to join the Loddon Valley league in years and will go a long way to filling the breach left by the departures of premiership defenders Meg Allen and Ashlee Donnan.

The Mean Machine have also promoted from within, with Ellie Wilson and Brigette Matthews, who were reserves in last season's A-grade flag win, and Carly Scholes all stepping up from a talent-laden B-grade team, and Olivia Collicoat returning to the fray from injury.

Coaches Davies and Wilson anticipate a seamless transition and have every right to be confident, with the Mean Machine's B-grade team dominating the competition during a run of three-straight premierships.

The Mean Machine open their season at Pyramid Hill and should again figure strongly in premiership calculations.

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