This season, Cowra will join Parkes and Dubbo in a round-robin tournament known as the "Valleys" which is a combination of the old Lachlan and Maquarie cricket councils.

The top two Valleys teams will progress to the WPL semi-finals where they will play the top two Mitchell teams, either Mudgee, Orange, Bathurst or the Blue Mountains.

A first-round win could possibly assure either Cowra or Dubbo a spot in the semi-finals and Cowra coach Rod Kershaw says he is confident with the team he is taking.

"We've got a very strong, solid 11, it's the strongest since I've been involved," Kershaw said.

"It's a team that will be extremely competitive and will test Dubbo on their flat decks."

Travelling to Dubbo with a mix of youth and experience, Kershaw believes Cowra has the right man in Western Zone representative Mick Curtale to lead Cowra to a successful 2014-15 season.

"Mick brings an enormous amount of confidence to the team," he said.

"I'm not saying he'll score all our runs but he relieves a lot of pressure and allows for the boys to play their natural games. He's a good captain and great tactically."

Despite matching up with them for the first time this season, Kershaw says he's not expecting any surprises from a strong Dubbo line-up stacked with senior Western Zone representatives such as Tim Cox, Jordan Moran, Mitch Bower and Ryan Medley as well as young tearaway Ben Patterson.

"Dubbo's predictable, there'll be no hidden surprises in their team or the pitch," Kershaw said.

"A big performance here could really put you in the mix for further rep stuff, it's probably harder making the Valleys team then it is the Zone team."

o COWRA: Mick Curtale (c), Conor Crook, Scott Gray, Greg Garlick, Peter Guthrie, Brendan Traves, Zach Starr, Jacob McNaught, David Henderson, Gurpreet Singh, Mick Miller, Jackson Moodie.