The Dubbo Lions are back.
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After seven years in the wilderness, the Lions will return to Premier League Hockey in 2024.
Matt Hoyle is one of the driving forces behind the revival and he and the new group are eager to make it a long-term presence.
The Lions were previously part of the Central West competition in 2015 and 2016 before folding while the Dubbo Crows had previously represented the city until 2011.
"We want this to last. We don't want it to just start for a year," Hoyle said.
"We want want to try and keep it going and have a team in the competition every year."
Hoyle was one of a number of Dubbo-based players who had originally considered travelling to play with the Orange Wanderers for the 2024 season.
"A few of us were going ... we didn't see that point in that," he said.
"We decided to see if we could get some other players onboard to get back into the competition."
Some players required a little convincing but a squad of 16-20 players is now in place ahead of the season starting on May 11.
The other main deciding factor in the return was a change of competition structure in 2024.
When the Lions were previously part of the competition, trips to Bathurst, Lithgow and Orange were required on almost a weekly basis.
But, due to dwindling numbers in the competition, the decision to scrap weekly competition has been made and instead one gala day-style event involving each of the five teams will be held every three weeks.
"That's what has really allowed us to come back because a lot of the guys find it hard to commit every weekend," Hoyle said.
"That's good and Dubbo will have the home game on August 3 as well and that will be good for Dubbo hockey and people can come over and watch some good hockey from across the Central West."
On the field, the Dubbo side is shaping as a competitive force.
Hunter Medcalf is back and the former state junior representative will be a key figure for the side while Matt Waters and Pete Corcoran are other former Lions back again.
The side will also feature a number of younger players, with goalkeeper Kane Macfarlane one of those.
"There's a few young guys, which is good," Hoyle added.
"One of those said to us the other day he remembers being 12 and watching the older guys play in this team before it folded and now he's our goalkeeper and a state goalkeeper so he's a good asset."
With junior representatives and experienced figures who have had a taste of PLH previously, there's hope the Lions can make an immediate impact on the competition.
"We have a lot of talent so it should be a pretty decent team," Hoyle said.
"It'd be nice to make it into the finals, but we'll just have to wait and see how the tournament progresses.
"As long as we can hold our own and make it good competition for the other teams."