'He's a very classy playmaker': Betts welcomes Merritt's arrival

Following the departure of halfback Doug Hewitt, and the frustration of two straight second week exists from the finals series, there was a great need for the Panthers to find a capable player to fill the void.

Panthers believe they've found that man with the former Group 11 premiership winner.

Having seen what Merritt produced in 2023 with former club Nyngan Tigers, Betts is keen to bring the half's leadership into his own squad.

"To get Josh over the line is great. He's a very classy playmaker," he said.

"When we lost Dougy we were looking for someone to fill that role. We approached Joshy and the rest is history. We're very excited to get him here, in a new environment for him, and he's pretty excited as well.

"He'll be massive for us. He'll take on a big of a leadership role and help steer us around the park.

"I've played a bit of footy with him at rep level over the years. He's been to a few clubs now and he's always had a leadership role wherever he's landed, and we'll look for him to do that for us as well.

"I'll give him the reins for a few things and let him play his style of footy."

Betts said it'll be a while before he has the ideal starting side nailed down for the beginning of the 2024 season.

He said there's plenty of exciting junior talent coming through the ranks and several senior players already looking keen for the new campaign.

"We've got a few juniors and younger fellas who were playing reserve grade last year, and they'll all be looking to have a big pre-season," he said.

"There's also guys like McCoy White and Dave Sellers who have been into training for the past month and putting in a lot of work.

"We're starting with a clean slate though, and everyone will get their opportunity in the trials."

On March 23 Panthers are planning trial games against the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders for all four grades.