BERE Regis captain Rich Cole feels his side’s opening Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League clash with Stalbridge tomorrow (1pm) will provide a good “indicator” for Bere’s current level.

In finishing the 2018 campaign in seventh, Cole’s men ended 30 points and one place above Stalbridge with the two sides sharing home victories in their contests last season.

Speaking to Echosport, Cole consequently expects a “competitive” fixture against the north Dorset outfit, who have lost star spinner Ollie Legg to Cattistock.

He said: “I’m looking forward to a very competitive game. Looking at where the two teams finished in the bottom half last year this has the potential to be a really good indicator of our initial performance.

“It’s right at the beginning of the season – we’re going to baseline how our pre-season activity has gone on the back of this game.

“If it’s a win, great, we can say we’ve done really well. If it’s a loss we need to look at where we’ve gone wrong and what we need to do better.

“First game of the season anything can happen but you’ve got to go into it relatively confidently. We’re against a team we finished above last year.”

Bere have had one pre-season game of note, losing to a strong Cattistock team.

However, Cole highlighted the team’s emphasis on second team players during that fixture as the seconds seek to narrow the gap to their first XI by rising from County Division Five, beginning at Symene tomorrow (1.30pm).

Bere: Rich Cole, Keegan, Payne, Rob Cole, M King, Brown, Lambert, Murphy, Walbridge, Griffiths, Goodhew.