Ahead of the opening round of the Peter McDonald Premiership season the general feeling at Nyngan was their biggest signings for 2022 were still to come.
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It's nothing new for the Tigers to have to wait to secure some big names.
Nyngan has the smallest population of any club in the new western-wide competition and that combined with the town's remoteness means they're forced to work harder than most to attract signings.
There's often the need to wait until the first few rounds of major competitions in Sydney are played and certain players find themselves out of first grade or unhappy with their roles and go looking for a new challenge ahead of the June 30 signing deadline.
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The Tigers got their key men eventually with Michael Stark, Jyde Dwyer and, most importantly, former Wentworthville halfback Josh Bermingham all signing on after the season had started.
While the trio's presence is a welcome boost, it means we won't be seeing the best of the Tigers until later in the season as becoming comfortable in new surroundings and building those combinations takes time.
Nyngan has one win and a draw to its name at the midway point of the season but don't be surprised if their record in the second eight rounds is much better than that.
They're not alone there with other clubs currently lower in the standings showing signs of life.
Cowra has been whacked by injuries to key men Jack Buchanan and Warren Williams and a number of others early in the campaign but after regrouping there was promising signs in a narrow defeat to Orange CYMS recently while Lithgow stuck it to Orange Hawks and the winless Wellington Cowboys shot out to a strong lead over Parkes in their last match only to fade late on.
Check in with any of those clubs and they'll tell you the best is yet to come.
It's clear Buchanan feels that way, given what he said earlier this week when speaking about how the long weekend general bye will help his side deal with the ongoing injury situation.
"It'll also give us a chance to freshen up the guys who have been playing, to be ready to attack the back end of the season with full force," he said.
The problem for those sides currently outside the competition's top eight is none of the sides at the top of the ladder seem close to their best footy yet either.
The one outlier is Mudgee, but we'll get to the Dragons soon enough.
We'll look at the two powerhouse CYMS sides first.
At Orange, captain-coach and NRL premiership winner Daniel Mortimer hasn't played since the fourth minute of their round two win over Wellington due to injury.
Despite that, his Orange CYMS side has lost just the once so far in 2022 and sits behind Mudgee on only for-and-against.
It's a fair assumption the Orange side is only going to get better when Mortimer returns, and the thought of what the electric Joe Lasagavibau will do with some of the pressure off his shoulders is a scary one for rivals.
At Dubbo, the feeling is CYMS is only now really getting into stride.
Coach Shawn Townsend is a relaxed character for the most part and is patient as well.
He started pre-season later than some CYMS coaches of previous years and he used many of the opening rounds as a chance to look at a host of players in the senior squad.
Young players have been given a great opportunity and many - Jordi Madden and Riley Wake in particular - have taken it with both hands and nailed down starting spots.
Former captain-coach Jarryn Powyer has missed more games than he's played so far this season due to injury but is back fit now while Jyie Chapman's return from a broken foot lasted less than one game as he suffered an ankle injury in last weekend's derby win over Macquarie.
If those two can get back playing regularly and the top 17 starts week in, week out then there's no reason the Fishies won't deliver on the prediction of many that they will finish as champions in 2022.
Speaking of last weekend's Dubbo derby, it was latest example of the inconsistency that's plaguing the Macquarie Raiders.
Captain-coach Alex Ronayne's strict ruling on injured players having to earn their spot back through reserve grade is admirable but you can't deny it impacts momentum, as was seen in the derby loss as the destructive Corey Cox watched the main game from the sidelines.
The Raiders have a lineup with as much potential as any other in the competition and Ronayne has said repeatedly the only thing that matters is playing your best footy when it matters.
"Building momentum is definitely something we want to do but we are still building. You don't win grand finals now," he said late last month.
Elsewhere in Group 11, the entertaining and inventive Parkes has overcome a slow start to win three games in a row heading into this weekend's bumper southern derby with a Forbes side that has lost just once up to this point.
Both sides, driven on by some of the most passionate fanbases in the western area, are ones to watch in the coming months.
Back in Group 10, the one to keep an eye on is Bathurst Panthers.
A derby loss to St Pat's and defeat to Mudgee in back-to-back weeks may have given the indication Panthers aren't the same force that won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019 but their last start win over Orange CYMS is the one to pay attention to.
That match was only the second time this season CYMS had scored less than 20 points in a game while the 35 points Panthers scored was easily the most that had been put on Mortimer's men.
Panthers lost captain-coach Doug Hewitt, Nic Loader and Brent Seager during the off-season. That leaves a massive hole in any side. After a slightly clunky start to things, it's looking far more rosy for Panthers and we haven't even mentioned winger Desi Doolan, who has scored six more tries than anyone else in the competition so far this year.
Bathurst St Pat's and Orange Hawks have been the little brothers in their respective cities in recent seasons and while they sit fourth and fifth in the Group 10 pool, there's been performances of note.
It's clear St Pat's are improving and in Hayden Bolam they have one of the standout players so far in 2022. His performances are even being talked about among Group 11 sides. Pat's defeated Panthers and Parkes so far this season while Hawks are the only side to have defeated Dubbo CYMS this year.
So now let's look at Mudgee.
The Dragons have arguably been the one side that was playing near its best quickly and they currently have the best record of any club across the Group 10 or Group 11 pools.
While so many clubs have completely revamped their playing rosters during the past two COVID-hit seasons, Mudgee has a strong core group that knows each other's game and has been playing together for some time now.
Mudgee has played less games than everyone else as they've already had both their byes but the key men are fit and firing.
Captain-coach Jack Littlejohn leads them around with class and in Corin Smith they have one of the biggest try-scoring threats in the competition, but it's the forward pack which has set the tone so far.
Forbes coach Cameron Greenhalgh has coached club and representative footy for a number of years but when you talk to him about the Magpies' meeting with the Dragons earlier this season and he'll tell you it was one of the most outstanding and physical matches he's seen at Spooner Oval.
That kind of comment doesn't come lightly from someone like 'Red Dog'.
The fact the current top sides in the competition are only going to get better doesn't bode well for the teams lower on the Group 11 and Group 10 pool ladders, it should fill fans with plenty of excitement.
The immediate reaction to a western-wide competition was mixed but the feedback from all clubs, players and supporters up to this point has been positive.
With those very best sides expected to get better as we approach finals, the stage is set for some of the best bush footy finals matches we've seen in some time.