“We know Mount Gambier is going to be the benchmark again, because they’ve got a great squad.”
The Hornets have lost veteran big man Damien Skurrie to retirement, while their leading scorer in the grand final Matt Brown will also depart after joining the army and Max Bryan will take a year off.
But Benbow said he was confident Horsham could cover the losses.
“A new player to the squad will be Charlie Campbell. He’s a kid from Edenhope who has played Big V basketball down on the Surf Coast, and we’ll look for a few of our younger kids to stand up, like Freddy Frew, Tarkyn Benbow and Micah Livingstone,” he said. “Charlie will probably play a forward position. He’s not a big kid, but he’s a pretty good athlete. He jumps out of the gym.
“Jono Lovel has also come back into the squad after having a 10-year break. He’s been impressive on the court as well.
“Looking at our squad, we’d love to give ourselves a chance to take out the championship again, but there’s going to be some good sides this year.
“First we’ll aim for finals, and then reset and have another go at it.”
The Hornets face a greulling first-up road trip, travelling to Millicent in South Australia to play the Magic at 6pm on Saturday, before heading east to play Ararat in Ararat on Sunday afternoon.
In a further blow, last season’s league-leading scorer Austin Mckenzie will be unavailable for the first two games.
“It’s not an ideal way to start the season, but it is what it is,” Benbow said.
“The first round is always hard because you don’t know who other sides have picked up and what they look like compared to last year.
“Millicent is generally pretty strong, and I just don’t know what Ararat is going to be like.
“I haven’t seen their squad posted anywhere, but they’re always tough to play against.
“It’s a short season too, only 10 games, so we’ve got to get off to a good start.”
But with Mckenzie, Mitch Martin and Cody Bryan remaining the focal points of the Hornets’ line-up, Benbow said the team was well positioned to remain among the division’s top sides.
“They’re going to be the nucleus of our side and then we’re looking for the young kids to step up, take their opportunities and have a real crack at it this year,” he said.
Horsham will only field a men’s team in this season’s CBL competition after player unavailability made a senior women’s team unviable.
Horsham Amateur Basketball Association president Matt Grace said the association would focus on developing and retaining its juniors, with plans to re-establish a senior women’s side next season.
Redbacks return
Ararat Redbacks will also field a men’s team this season, playing a home double-header at Ararat Fitness Centre against Terang Tornadoes at 7pm on Saturday and Horsham at 12.30pm on Sunday.
The Redbacks finished eighth on the ladder last season but were consistently competitive, winning five of their 16 games.
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