He wants to make them bring the Claxton Shield to Canberra and beat them at Narrabundah Ballpark.

And he's doing it with a "blue colour" batch for the 2019-20 season.

When the Cavalry open their campaign against the Melbourne Aces at Narrabundah on Thursday night it's the start of the mission to win a second title.

That means ending the Bandits' four-year reign of terror.

"Our preference is to make them bring the shield to us and beat them here," Ward said.

Ward's been impressed with how the squad's come together, winning all three or their pre-season trials over the weekend.

While he's got a couple of players with Major League experience - JJ Hoover and Gavin Cecchini - he said they're all willing to get their hands dirty on the training paddock.

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He felt they've got all the ingredients to be competitive - from a hitting line-up containing Cecchini, Jerrick Suiter and Zach Wilson to a pitching roster that has the luxury of bringing Steve Kent out of the bullpen.

Hoover will start game one, with Phil Pfeifer, Dushan Ruzic and Kosuke Sakaguchi rounding out the starting rotation.

"Everyone seems to have bought into the culture and the hard-working style of the team," Ward said.

"I think we're going to have some fun, we've got some characters on the team, but they're all blue-collar-type guys.

"They all want to get their hands dirty and do whatever it takes to win."

ABL ROUND ONE

Thursday: Canberra Cavalry v Melbourne Aces at Narrabundah Ballpark, 7pm. Game two Friday 7pm; game three Saturday 7pm; game four Sunday 1pm. Tickets from canberracavalry.com.au.