The Spacemen lost a number of players during their round one match and that was one of the major reasons why they allowed Bathurst St Pat's to score 24 unanswered points and steal a 30-20 win.

Creith's side heads to Dubbo on Sunday to play the Macquarie Raiders and they will do so without the injured Jordan Pope, Sam Dwyer, Jake Porter, and Epi Sadrodro.

READ ALSO:

- Alahna Ryan to launch into busy season with action-packed double

- Jets start in style as Castlereagh League overcomes tumultuous build-up

- Austin impressed by Rhinos' young talents ahead of Wombats battle

There's a huge amount of experience in that quartet but Creith, in his first year as captain-coach, can't wait to see how a host of young debutants perform in their place.

"We've got some really good juniors and blokes who will debut this weekend who I'm really excited about," he said.

"At the time (of the injuries) you think you're down and out and you'll be in trouble but it gives the young players a chance and that's probably the best part of coaching country footy.

"They're itching to get into it and I'm excited to see them play."

Jesse Shorter is one of those younger players and the Western Rams representative junior will line up at prop at Dubbo while James Parsons, Cody Crisp, Riley Scott and Raiden Choyce provide plenty of youth in the backline.

Despite the changes and Parkes having not played since April 9 due to the Easter general bye and then a round two bye, the Spacemen are still heading to Dubbo with confidence.

"I wrote our team down on paper and we might be short on troops but I'm really excited by the side we've got," Creith said.

"We've got a lot of points in us but we've just got to work hard and go to the death and if we do that we'll get the well-deserved win.

"We've got the two Dubbo teams and then Nyngan at home so it really feels like the season has started. In that first game against Pat's we were just trying to get through it and get the win.

"We didn't have the greatest preparation so that nearly felt like a trial, which is probably why we died in the back end of it."

Parkes defeated Macquarie twice in the regular season last season but did suffer defeats in a number of close contests during the 2021 season.

Players and officials from rival clubs often remarked Parkes probably deserved to finish in fifth spot, where they were when the season was abandoned due to COVID.

But Creith, who also saw his side give up to lead to St Pat's, doesn't have too many concerns with his side's ability.

"We were fifth last year coming into finals and that wasn't a worry for us because we had everyone back at the right time," he said, injuries having hit the Spacemen hard in 2021.

"But dropping games you shouldn't, you just don't want to be chasing your tail towards the back end of the season.

"I don't feel like getting run down by St Pat's is an issue for us. After 30 minutes of that we'd used four subs and they weren't forwards, it was just because of injuries and I can't see that happening again."

Sunday's match at Apex Oval is scheduled to kick-off at 2.30pm.

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: