Orana Spurs have drawn to play Berkeley Vale FC in the Australia Cup

The Manson-coached Spurs are set to face Central Coast side Berkeley Vale FC in their first match on either March 11 or 12, however, things might not be proceeding.

Manson admitted Spurs are preparing for another match as well but he is hoping a tricky situation is resolved soon.

"Fingers crossed it still goes through, we are trying to find a time and date that suits," he said.

"At the moment it isn't looking too good because they want to play on a Saturday at 4pm and we can't because we've got a team coming down for a pre-season game on the same day.

"That's more important for us and local football than the Australia Cup, we are in a bit of a stalemate at the moment."

Six clubs from the Western Premier League have nominated themselves for the Australia Cup, with Spurs being the only club from Dubbo.

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A near five-hour trip each way awaits Spurs should the game go ahead but Manson said the squad won't pull out of the game due to that factor.

"Central Coast is a long way to go but we will do it," he said.

"We don't mind at all, it's just about now trying to see if we can do it."

The 2023 Western Premier League (WPL) is set to start in early April, the first of the winter sporting codes to get back on the park but a draw is yet to be released.

After an indifferent 2022 season, Manson is confident his group can get back to their best while a familiar face will return to the squad.

"We are excited, we've had a good pre-season and the boys look good," he said.

"We've got Jake Grady back this year which really helps, he has been doing a lot of fitness while being in Newcastle.

"That's like picking up a brand-new player. We've got a good team this year so fingers crossed we can pick up from two years ago."

Grady's return is massive for Spurs with the towering footballer a key part of the club's WPL success in 2021, a season which saw them in first place before COVID-19 forced the competition to be abandoned with no premiership being awarded.

Without Duncan Cahill, Spurs will still have Brad Boney-Chillie in their squad for the season after the youngster broke into the starting side last year.

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