HORSHAM is hoping the addition of a clutch of younger players will help the Hornets to a premiership in the Country Basketball League’s 2015-16 season.
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They take on Colac Kookas in their first away game at 8pm on Saturday.
Coach Cam Bruce said the goal would be to get game time into some of the new, younger players.
“The goal for the season is to bring through a few young guys,” he said.
“We want to blood some minutes into them and improve each week.”
Stepping onto the court for the first time in senior basketball will be young Hornets Matt Lloyd, Mitch Martin, Jezza McKenzie and Tate Fennell.
Given their youth, all four will play as guards while older players will fill out the forward and centre positions.
This includes Damien Skurrie and Brett Goodgame with the Hornets also adding tall Tim Wade to their list.
But it will be a tough opening encounter for the Hornets with several players already ruled out of the match against Colac.
“We played them in the grand final so they will probably be our toughest opposition,” Bruce said.
“There are a few players missing so we will be undermanned.”
Missing from the side will be Skurrie and Tim Pickert, who are injured, while Wade is also out.
The Hornets lost two players over the off season, but with the addition of the four young stars, they are looking to ensure depth in the side well into the future.
“We are increasing the depth in our side because those younger guys will be playing big minutes for us in two or three years time,” Bruce said.
“I think they will be fine out there. We will ease them into and we know they can perform at that level.
“We are just expecting to be competitive and have a real crack.”
Over the off-season the Hornets have been working on their structures, hoping their new plays will deliver them enough scoring opportunities to consistently win games. This means for now, they are not worried about their opposition.
