The team have managed to retain the bulk of their side for their first foray into the new Peter McDonald Premiership, and will welcome back players from injury as they take on Group 11 opposition for the first time in a regular season.

Panthers coach Jake Betts would have loved to help co-ordinate the first training sessions in the new year but the new leader of the team has found himself caught up in the latest COVID-19 surge across the region.

"Ben Gunn and Blake Lawson ran the Tuesday session and they'll run the next one, then I'll be back next week," he said.

"I think everyone's in the same boat [with players in isolation] and luckily I wasn't too crook. There are a lot of people worse off than me. I definitely looking forward to getting back out there."

One of the big names to be back healthy in a Panthers training session for the first time in a while was Blake Lawson, who suffered a season-ending injury before the opening round had even arrived.

"Lawso did his knee in the knockout last year and he's been working hard on his rehab," Betts said.

"He's keen as mustard. I don't think I've ever seen him this keen to play, and he should be right to play for round one. It's exciting for us as a club to have him back. He was a big loss for us last year.

"The rest of the boys are looking pretty healthy, because with the way it was last year when you're playing one week then having two or three weeks off there was plenty of time for all the niggling, little injuries to heal up."

Panthers are currently in the midst of one of the club's strongest dynasties since its formation, and they'll hope to continue that strong form as they enter a new competition.

Betts isn't just looking forward to seeing what the big names can do this year in a new playing environment but also what the younger members of the club can do if they're to be called upon at any point during the 2022 top grade competition.

"It's looking pretty much the same as last year. I'm really looking forward to seeing Keelan come back. He was, in my opinion, the best player in the comp last season," he said.

"Then there's usual guys like Shifty [Nick Loader] and Jed [Betts]. It's going to be so good getting everyone back together. We've been pretty lucky having everyone together so long after coming through juniors.

"We've been pretty fortunate with that, and we've got a really good group of under 18s at the moment too. We're trying to set things up to be able to keep doing that for the next five to six years as well."

First thing on the agenda for the Panthers will be their knockout carnival which is set to be held at Carrington Park on March 4 and 5, where they may also have the first opportunity to see Group 11 opponents.

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