Macquarie Raiders captain-coach Alex Ronayne has confirmed he'll miss the start of the Peter McDonald Premiership season, but he's extremely confident his side has what it takes to make an early statement in the new competition.
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The Raiders will kick-off their season a week earlier than most as their clash with the Mudgee Dragons will act as the curtain-raiser to the NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and Canberra Raiders at Glen Willow Stadium on April 2.
Ronayne will be forced to what that match, and possibly the round two meeting with Lithgow, from the sideline after recent jaw surgery.
Despite that, the back-rower has the expectation his side will announce itself as a genuine premiership contender at the first opportunity in the new western-wide competition.
"We really do want to make a statement early," Ronayne said of the Mudgee match.
"Every game we play, we want to win. That's our drive.
"We want to make a statement straight away and let people know Macquarie are here for business. We're going over to win and win big."
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Ronayne broke his jaw in two places while on Western Rams representative duty against the Greater Northern Tigers earlier this month and while it is healing ahead of schedule, the Mudgee match will arrive too soon.
"I'm expecting to be back around round three," he said.
"I broke in two spots, one around my chin and one up the side of my jaw, but it's healing really well.
"It's coming along well but I'm a bit devastated I can't play next weekend."
The loss of the inspirational leader is a blow for the Raiders, but a senior leadership group has set a high standard at training and Ronayne is adamant his side primed to start the season in style.
New recruits Colt Tairua and Josh Nixon and the returning Filisione Pauta were all praised for their impact during pre-season while Corey Cox, Jai Merritt, EJ Fernando and CJ Ralph will head into round one having taken plenty from being a part of the Western Rams' Country Championships campaign this year.
Add leading half Josh Merritt, Wade Peachey and Kempston brothers Jack and Harry to the list of new faces and the Raiders appear stronger than they were last year, when they were still in premiership contention when the season was cancelled due to COVID.
"I'm very excited," Ronayne said.
"You look at the leadership group there with blokes like Colt, Coxy and Josh Nixon and there's some blokes here not many people have seen play.
"I think it's a premiership-winning team this year. All the boys are on the same page, they all want to win and they're all up for it."
While the new faces are creating excitement, there have been a number of departures.
Representative props Jack Kavanagh and Nick Harvey have both moved away from Dubbo while Wyndham Peachey, who lit up Group 11 at times last season, has returned to Sydney.
Peachey's absence will leave a hole but it is one Merritt brothers Josh and Jai will fill after returning to their junior club during the off-season.
"Jai hasn't missed a training session yet and Josh said this is the most he's trained in about six years," Ronayne said.
"I'm very excited to see what he can bring this year and everyone knows what a player he is.
"They've brought plenty to the club and they've brought a spark so there is big hype around those boys."
The Mudgee-Macquarie match at Glen Willow will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday, April 2.
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