They have been a dominant force in the Whitney Cup competition for the past 15 years but RSL-Colts have plenty of work to do if they are to be a threat in the 2014-15 season.
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An off-season hampered by a lack of training and a few departures after last year's third-place finish means the club is a little bit uncertain heading into their opening match against Dubbo CYMS but player Wes Giddings is confident the club can still challenge.
"The club will be a bit underprepared compared to previous years. It hasn't quite come together for us yet, it has been difficult to get people to training for one reason or another but hopefully that will change on Thursday," Giddings said.
A loss to Macquarie in last year's semi-final brought a run of nine consecutive grand final appearances to an end and after nine premierships in the past 14 years, Colts may be coming back to the pack.
"That run might be coming to an end, which a lot of people might be happy about but our goal at this stage is to make the semi-finals and see how we go from there. It would be a major disappointment for us if we didn't make the finals," Giddings explained.
Colts have lost Will Wolter to South Dubbo and Stuart Naden to CYMS, while Wade Potter and Jacob Bruce have elected not to return, Potter because of a knee injury he sustained during the rugby league season.
"We've lost four from last year and haven't really picked anyone up so there has been a bit of turnover.
"We will have a look at some of our juniors and rely on our depth to hopefully get us through.
"I think with the players we have coming back from last year we should still be competitive," Giddings said.
"We're hoping that Aaron Morris and Brad Cox will be available to us and they will fill some of the gaps.
"We are still confident we can win games and cover for the loss of those guys. I think we have enough players here who can step up."
Giddings is predicting the defending premiers Rugby to be frontrunners again and he is also expecting a push from CYMS.
"From what I've heard Rugby are looking strong again and if CYMS have recruited as many players as I've heard then they are going to be in a very good position.
"Besides CYMS it sounds like most teams have lost a few players and not replaced them with anyone outside their club.
Chris Morton will lead the Colts for the 2014-15 season which will get underway with the opening day of their two-day match against CYMS on Saturday.
