Lawder was announced as Barellan's new coach on the weekend as the club looks to return from a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawder had initially signed for last season and has now accepted a promotion to senior coach after Sean Browning decided to step down after two years in charge.

The 36-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the role, having held various coaching positions in AFL Canberra over the past 15 years.

Barellan only won the one game in 2019 but drew with eventual grand finalists, East Wagga-Kooringal, and were competitive in most games throughout the year.

Lawder had no hesitation in setting a clear goal for his new club.

"I want to win five games as a minimum," Lawder said.

"I feel like from talking to everyone, that we've got the cattle there. We're obviously bringing in some experienced players from Canberra, some of them are yet to sign.

"The guys who are already on board are experienced, seasoned players so I'm really excited about what they can add into the group."

Lawder will be Canberra-based, travelling with established Barellan players Sean Ellis and Matt Wells.

One benefit of Lawder's appointment is that it opens the door for more Canberra-based recruits to jump on board.

Lawder is confident he will be in a position to announce new signings in the coming weeks.

"I've spoken to Jeff (Mickan), Will (Overs) and Sean (Browning) about the holes that we needed to fill and the players we needed to bring in, which is the ones I concentrated on first, a bit more midfield depth and goalscoring options, so it's good," he said.

"I think five games is achievable, winning five games. I'm obviously going into a different league that I haven't been privy to but just knowing where Barellan have been at the last few years, I think they only won one game last season, but weren't far away in a lot of others."

With more players set to join a list that already boasts Ellis, Wells, Lawder, Will Overs, Matt Irvin, Jack Hillman, along with Griffith recruits Reece Matheson and Sam Foley, there is no reason to suggest Barellan cannot be big improvers.

The Two Blues open the new season with the bye and will kick off their campaign against Northern Jets at Ardlethan on April 17.

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