Cachia left Olympic at the end of 2019 having won nine trophies for the club since joining five years ago, and has already signed several of his old players since landing at the ambitious Panthers.

A new-look Olympic, meanwhile, comes into 2021 after a massive summer clearout having turned over 13 of the 18 players from last year's top-grade squad.

And while the 2016 FFA Cup finalists are tipped to struggle in the National Premier League this season, coach Robbie Cattanach was confident his young side would be more than competitive.

"I've said all along I expect us to make the top four still. Generally speaking Olympic doesn't miss out on the top four in its history so that expectation won't be any different," Cattanach said.

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"Monaro's gone out and recruited well. This weekend will be a really good test for us because I think they're probably one of the favourites to win the comp.

"It's probably going to mean a little bit more for them because they've all come from Olympic, whereas all the players I have, none of them have really played for Cache [Cachia]. It's a good opportunity to lay a platform and test themselves against proven first graders."

NPL Men's round one

Saturday: West Canberra Wanderers FC v Gungahlin United FC at Melrose, 12.45pm. Tuggeranong United v Belconnen United at Kambah, 3pm, Monaro Panthers v Canberra Olympic at Riverside Stadium, 5.30pm. Sunday: Tigers FC v Canberra Croatia FC at Nijong Oval, 3pm