Orange CYMS captain-coach Daniel Mortimer has sung the praises of the new competition structure that will see the club look to open their account against Dubbo CYMS.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The newly formed Peter McDonald Premiership will combine sides from Group 10 and Group 11 competitions for a 13-team western competition.
Mortimer was pleased to see an old rival up first.
"We had a pre-season trial against Dubbo CYMS last year for the first time in years and it was really good," he said.
"There's an old standing Foundation Fathers Cup that usually got put on the line in that trial, but it looks like we may actually get to play for it in a round game, which will be awesome to start the year.
"That will be a big blockbuster round one hopefully and to give a chance to bring that Cup back to life would be a great opportunity for both clubs."
READ ALSO:
But despite that possibility of bringing home some silverware early on, they won't be making too much of the match, regardless of the result.
"It's a long season and we won't ride or die on that first match but it will give us a good idea of where we're at and what we need to work on," Mortimer added.
"The earlier you get those big games the better because you can start to really critique that game and learn from it. I'm really excited by it."
With a 16 round competition, each of the 13 sides will play a 14 match schedule, with CYMS having the bye in week 3 and 6.
Overall, Mortimer believes the new structure will be a good thing for the sport out west.
"This year was pretty hard to do with only five other teams," he said.
"Hopefully it reinvigorates a bit of energy into the western comp and to be able to play teams across Parkes, Forbes, Nyngan, Dubbo is exciting because they're teams we don't usually get to put ourselves against.
"I know at the club we're really excited about the prospect of playing new teams, but also it will be a bit more weight on the premiership this year being the first ever western comp, which is a big reason why I stuck around.
"There's some great teams in Group 11 and great teams in Group 10 and there's always the rivalry about which group has the best teams and I guess we get to find out next year, which is awesome."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News