Tigers captain Mat Skinner, returned to the top job during the pre-season wait, doesn't see any issue with how his sides style of play will line up with the format.

"One day cricket suits us right down to the ground, we're all pretty excited about it, we're one of the teams that style of cricket really suits how we like to play the game and how we play it best," Skinner said.

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"We're excited to get back to playing regardless, but we're pretty happy about how it's panned out."

It's a brag the Tigers can back up, with impressive form in the shortened McDonald Megahit T20 competition and other feats in one-day cricket over the years standing as a testament to their ability under time pressure.

Skinner, more than just a familiar face around the greens, had his own concerns about the way the season was shaping up in it's earliest days, but thankfully those have been put to rest.

"I always thought we'd play, it was just a question of how much we'd play, I started to get a little bit worried when footy and soccer were all talking about maybe running into the cricket season," Skinner said.

"But it's all worked out, all the boys are pretty keen, they were all really thrilled to be back."

While there were no huge surprises in the lead-up to pre-season, Skinner did notice that a few sessions were light on numbers, and puts it down to the 'new normal' making some uncomfortable.

"It was a bit different, blokes have sort of been a bit light on numbers, but that's the same across the board from what I've heard, the signing in and the COVID has scared people off a little bit," Skinner said.

"It's the new normal, so people are starting to get back to training, I think we'll see the numbers rise up a bit now we're in the first week."

While the usual roster shake-ups are nothing new for a club as established as Newtown, a few of the other clubs movements have caught Skinner's eye ahead of his side's first round match-up with RSL Colts.

"They're looking very, very strong this year, they've picked up Mitchy Bower from South Dubbo and they've got a few other blokes that have come back into the fold," Skinner said.

"I think they'll be the team to beat this season, but the boys here are really keen for the challenge."

"Lee Price and Trent Smith are both looking to have big years this season with the bat and the ball, so we're hoping they can tally up those runs for us early and start making a few things happen once we get out there."

The fixture will be a rematch of last year's opening round, which in turn played out as a rematch of the year before's premiership battle, where the Tigers downed the Colts in order to secure the silverware.

The Marty Jeffrey led RSL-Colts got their revenge in last season's opener, however and the stage has already been set for another chapter in one of the region's long-standing cricket rivalries when the two sides meet this weekend.

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