The former three-time Brisbane Lions premiership key forward said he was happy to be back in the south-west on Tuesday night but his focus was on utilising a strong squad against the Bendigo Football Netball League at Reid Oval on Saturday.

“It's been great, I am loving being back home and hopefully we can continue on from our win last year and I can help the league move up the state rankings and get the league noticed more,” Brown told The Standard before training at his former home ground, the Friendly Societies’ Park.

Brown, who is coaching the side for the second consecutive year, wants the Bottle Greens to play a quick style and is urging his players to back themselves.

“I'll be encouraging the boys to use their natural talents and instincts, as we want to play an exciting brand of football and that's what representative footy is all about,” he said.

The retired AFL legend said he was wary of the vast expanses of Reid Oval. 

“It’s a big ground and we certainly don't want to be beaten for pace,” he said.

“But at the end of the day we do have some really strong midfielders in the squad and we just have to make sure we don't get beaten on the outside by Bendigo.”

Brown said he was waiting on injury updates with his final side to be revealed after Thursday night’s session.