But each time the talks collapsed and that means, as of now, the Tigers head into the inaugural Peter McDonald Premiership without a marquee signing to cover for the large number of departures from the club.

But Neill isn't downbeat about that.

Attracting players to to Nyngan, the smallest and remote of any of the towns featuring in the Peter McDonald Premiership this year, is always a battle but one thing the club now does have in its favour is a strong junior production line.

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Many of the younger players got a taste of first grade in 2021 and their development, combined with potential big name signings in the future, has Neill excited about the state of his club.

"We're too good to be playing anywhere else with what we've got coming through and if we can land these blokes who have been talking about coming next year then we'll be a force for years to come," the captain-coach and prop said.

"We always try to get that good mix of local boys and few external guys."

It's been a challenging off-season in the Bogan Shire for a number of reasons.

The Nyngan club initially opposed the idea of structure change in western competitions and only reluctantly agreed to be part of the new premiership.

Former captain-coach Jeremy Smith, representative prop Guy Thompson and star half Josh Merritt were just some of the players who also left the club and new faces have been hard to come by.

That led Neill to take on the captain-coach's role for the second time in his career.

The season starts this weekend with one of the biggest challenges in the new premiership, a meeting with Orange CYMS.

A powerhouse of bush footy, Orange CYMS is led by captain-coach and former NRL player Daniel Mortimer and they head into this year having claimed the Group 10 minor premiership last year before all play was halted due to COVID.

Neill is all too aware it doesn't get much harder but his focus is purely internal and largely on the younger players who look primed to make a real impact in 2022.

The likes of Jak Jeffery, Sonny Knight and Cale Dunn are all set to take on more responsibility as they continue to develop into regular first grade performers.

"We haven't landed any particularly big recruits at the moment but in terms of locals of local juniors coming through, I think the club is in good hands," Neill said.

"We've struggled to land guys to add depth but we're not in a bad position. We're a little light on but our future, vision and sustainability is probably the best it's been for awhile.

"These guys have had an association with Nyngan for a long time and we'll be in good hands.

"We're going to have locals and we're going to fight like we always have done."

As positive as things are, the lack of big name is a little frustrating to all involved.

Neill confirmed ex-NRL players were among those who the club met with during the off-season but each time a deal couldn't be struck.

"We've been that close to landing some people that would blow the competition apart but it's just fallen through every time," he said.

In terms of new recruits, former Dubbo CYMS reserve grade captain Hewett Haycock will get the chance to prove himself in the top grade after making the move across and impressing Neill in pre-season, while Viliame Latenacolo has slotted into the backline after joining from Leeton.

The clash between the Tigers and Orange CYMS kicks off at 2.30pm at Nyngan's Larkin Oval on Saturday.

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