A clean run at finals, a midfield that continues to improve, and consistency across the board are on Panmure's priority list ahead of the 2022 Warrnambool and District Football League season.
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With two Covid ravaged seasons in 2020 and 2021 now behind them, Bulldogs coach Chris Bant is hopeful that the tide will turn for community football.
"It's been annoying that we haven't had a clean run at it for the last couple of years, but that's the same for everyone and it's the world we're living in," he said.
"Hopefully it can turn around, and we get a season in, and have a real crack at finals."
The Bulldogs will return to pre-season football and netball training on Monday, January 31 as they gear up to launch at the season, but training was initially slated to begin a few weeks prior.
"We'd decided to push it back a few weeks. We were going to start on the 17th, but a lot of our players have contracted the virus or have been close contacts, so I think if we trained there wouldn't have been a lot of numbers," he said.
"But we'll be right to go for round one."
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Last season was one of tremendous promise for the Bulldogs, finishing fourth on the ladder with eight wins, five losses and an impressive percentage of 165.5, leaving Bant confident that his group has what it takes to really climb up the table and challenge.
"We finished fourth obviously last year, which to be honest we were probably a little disappointed in," he said.
"We could have finished third if a few things went our way, but we lost a few we shouldn't have.
"We've recruited well, kept the majority of our playing list, so we expect to be right up there again. We'll shape up alright, and we're happy with how we're sitting at the moment."
Bant conceded that one department on the field has been a big focus in the off-season, with the midfield bolstered. The Bulldogs have already snared ex-North Ballarat VFL player Wilbur Pomorin, a polished midfielder who had a stint with Terang Mortlake, but most recently had been playing for South Warrnambool, where he is a premiership player.
"In the past, our midfield could have probably used a bit more help, there's probably not been enough depth in there so we feel like we've added to that," he said.
"Hopefully it can go from being a bit of a weakness of ours, to something that can be a real strength this season."
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