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NEW Macquarie Raiders coach Guy Meredith said his team were grateful for the bye in the opening round of the Group 11 premiership because it would give some players an opportunity to get healthy.
Meredith said he was happy with his side's preparation but there had been casualties.
The Raiders played trials against Nyngan and Parkes, as well as finishing as runners-up in the Group 11 Nines tournament.
Captain Anthony Egan picked up a foot injury and would have been an uncertain starter if the Raiders were to play this weekend but should be right for next week's roadtrip to Cobar.
Chris Ahsee is another who is on the injury list but may miss the first few games.
Despite the hurdles Meredith said he was looking forward to the season.
"The guys will be ready to rock and roll. We kept our pre-season pretty simple, it was a setback to get those few injuries but that's where the extra week comes in handy," the coach said.
"We've got a good squad, our new recruits have settled in well and everyone is looking forward to our first game."
In other Group 11 news, the Parkes Spacemen kick off their season today when they welcome the Cobar Roosters to Pioneer Oval.
The Spacemen are coming off an impressive pre-season which included a win in the inaugural Group 11 Nines competition.
First grade captain-coach Dennis Moran, who has taken over the reigns from Pat Rosser, could not be happier with his side's preparation.
"It has been a really good pre-season for us and we are in a very positive position heading into the season," Moran said.
"We had a number of things we needed to fix and the trials allowed us to work out those kinks which was great.
"But, there are still a few things we need to work on.
"We need to make better starts and work on our execution.
"These things will improve with a bit of work," he said.
The final match of the round sees the Wellington Cowboys play host to the Nyngan Tigers tomorrow afternoon.
Cowboys captain-coach Justin Toomey-White, who will be without fullback Norm West, faces a challenge this season in finding a creative spark to replace Lewis Stanley in the halves while new Nyngan captain-coach Byron Warren will be keen to build on the success his club achieved last season.