On a personal level Coughlan had reason to be satisfied with his return to the BOIDC given he finished as Redbacks' leading batsman and the third best in the competition with 446 runs at an average of 49.56.

But he knows it could have been better had an injured thumb not sidelined him before Christmas.

Likewise Redbacks, who finished the season in seventh, had more of their results impacted by bad weather than any other side and were unlucky not to finish higher.

This season Coughlan, who freely admits "I always play to win" is looking for more of his squad to contribute on a regular basis.

He's also crossing his fingers for better weather, but wants his side to start strong so that they can be in a position to challenge for a semi-final spot heading into the latter half of the season after the disappointment of finishing seventh in the BOIDC's comeback last summer.

While that finish was a little deceptive given Redbacks had four matches abandoned due to the weather, Coughlan knows his men need to start better to push for finals.

Unlike last season when the season consisted entirely of two-day fixtures, the 2020-21 draw sees teams competing in 40-overs-aside one-dayers over the first three rounds. It is a format Redbacks are happy to see.

"You've just got to put yourself in the best possible position early in the season, that's by being prepared and winning those early game," Coughlan said.

"That's always the goal for us, if we didn't want to win it we wouldn't be playing first grade. Like the competitive edge is still there for our team and we are gunning for a semi-final spot at least this year.

"These young fellas we've got, they're keen to step up this year. Everyone sort of had a pretty quiet season last year except for a couple of senior boys, so we'll call on those younger blokes a bit more."

While Coughlan is a little uncertain about the talent each of his rivals will have this season, he again expects defending premiers Orange City and last summer's minor premiers Cavaliers to be strong.

As for a dark horse the Redbacks skipper asked: "Well can you say yourself?"

"I'd say we'd be the dark horse, I don't think we're in the top three yet, but I'd give us a crack to push for semis this year when probably a lot of people wouldn't give us a shout without our import or Rory."