Hayley Rothnie wasn't going to play for the Orange Tigers this season, but after the death of her brother and Orange Tigers stalwart Chris Rothnie in February, she felt she didn't have a choice.

She'll don her brother's No.16 for the club when the Tigers women begin their AFL Central West season this weekend in Cowra and do her best to honour her brother on the fields of the Central West he loved playing on.

In typical Rothnie fashion, she imagines Chris, while proud, would "probably yell at me to go a bit harder" at the footy while watching down from above on Saturday.

She said it was weird not having him there at training, with the triple-premiership winner a mainstay at the club for nearly a decade.

Hayley wasn't planning on playing football this season - jokingly "because I'm lazy" - but about a month after Chris took his own life she decided she'd come back for one more year.

"I thought about it a bit and thought I owe it to him," she said.

She's not the only Rothnie donning yellow and black this season, either.

Despite eldest brother Michael taking a position playing footy at Ganmain Grong Grong Matong in the Riverina league, Sam Rothnie decided to return to the Tigers for the first time since 2016.

That year - a premiership year he played in alongside Chris - was his only year of senior footy after playing under 18s with the Tigers, but after speaking to some of the players in the Tigers' side he decided to pull on the jumper.

He too will wear his older brother's number, and while the jumper hadn't arrived ahead of his first game in round two, but it didn't lessen the emotion and weight of the occasion when he was presented with the jersey.

"I didn't get the chance to wear his number that time but it'll get easier," Sam said.

He missed round three with a back injury and is no certainty to play this week, with the same injury at play - but the bigger factor potentially keeping him out is the arrival of his second child, who was delivered on Monday night.

He said footy had helped the healing process.

"It's helped a little bit, it's been a bit odd without Michael or Chris out there but good with the footy blokes here," Sam said.

"It's been good to play with the bunch of guys he's played with, in the same teams ... they're just a bunch of good blokes."

One of those "good blokes" Sam's been able to run out alongside is Hayley's boyfriend Brendan Longley, ensuring the family connection to the Tigers in the wake of Chris' death is no less in 2019.

Longley has slipped into the Tigers' backline with aplomb, the league and basketball convert looking at home despite playing very few games since he saddled up to AusKick as a youngster, and said he'd loved playing.

"It's been great, the guys have been really good, only found myself out of position a few times and the guys tend to tell me where to be, push up, come back, they have a good understanding."

Hayley's side will kick off their 2019 campaign at 12.30 at Mulyan Oval, with the first bounce for the men's side at 2.30pm.