Captaining a first grade team would be an honour for most country rugby players.
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But new Dubbo Rhinos skipper Matt Neill feels he has an even higher purpose.
In just his fourth year at the Dubbo Rhinos, the former Dubbo Kangaroos junior is determined to bridge the gap between the rival clubs, saying the divide hurts both clubs' ability to grow the sport.
"It's not actually [anything] that the clubs have done, it's just now almost what's expected from one club to another," Neill said of the rift.
"It's unnecessary ... I was a Roo junior, so if it wasn't for that club I wouldn't play rugby, and without the Rhinos, I wouldn't be playing now.
"We'd be helping each other out if we had a better relationship between the two clubs, and we'd help grow rugby in Dubbo.
"I know there's enough good footballers in Dubbo for there to be two strong rugby union clubs."
Neill considers his new role an "honour" and a "privilege", and hopes to lead by example on and off the field.
Discipline was an ongoing issue for the Rhinos in recent, with the squad regularly hindered by sin-binnings and red cards.
But Neill said the 2019 preseason has been the most positive he's experienced "by a long way", and he credits coach Mark Reijnen for the change.
"We've got a coach who's played footy at a fairly solid level - and not too long ago," Neill said.
"It's good to have a big, fit, strong guy around the guys at training as well, and he knows what we should be able to achieve because he hasn't been out of the game too long."
He's confident the side can carry that positivity into Saturday's New Holland Agriculture Cup opener against the Parkes Boars.
But the self-professed "calm" head is also aware of the role he has to play.
"I'm a big believer in no fighting on the football field. I just think there's no reason for it," Neill said.
"Rugby's a great game but we need to play within the rules and respect each other, and without officials there's no game.
"On the field I want to make tackles and clean out - it's important to do your job, obviously.
Bolstering the Rhinos' ranks this year is another former Roo, Lachlan McFeeters, who will play at flanker and also features in the side's leadership group.
"He shows all the right qualities on the field, he never misses a training session ... I'm really excited to see him in the black and gold," Neill said.
"You can never have enough good blokes in your club."
Saturday's first grade clash against the Parkes Boars kicks off at Apex Oval at 3pm, after the second grade fixture at 1.30pm.
Having that respect for the officials and the culture of rugby ... I've done that for three seasons and that won't change.
- Matt Neill
"Doesn't matter if it's Parkes, or [defending champions] Narromine or whoever - we know what our plays are and we just want to do our job," Neill said.
"That starts with making our tackles and protecting the ball.
"Discipline and ball security and just taking good options, making the right decision on the field - it was something that we sometimes fell away from last year.
"I want the best for this club so ... I want have a crack and do the boys proud."
The Rhinos' colts side will debut against Orange City in the new stand-alone competition on Friday night, the new under 17s host Forbes, and the women have the first round bye in the Westfund Ferguson Cup.
"We're really excited to have the the colts back on board as I think that's a good feeder into the grade system," Neill enthused.
"We've also got under 17s again this year, so it's good to have those guys coming through the ranks as well."
