As they prepare to march out onto Glen Willow Stadium in front of thousands of footy fans this Saturday, the Mudgee Dragons are primed and raring to go after the short-lived 2021 season.
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While the red and white contingent aren't "too sure" what to make of their round one Peter McDonald Premiership opponents - the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders - one thing is for certain, they're ready to go.
Their first clash in the newly-formulated competition will act as the curtain-raiser for the NRL round four fixture between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Canberra Raiders on April 2.
With whispers of some "handy players" on Dubbo's lineup, Mudgee Dragons first grade captain-coach, Jack Littlejohn, who is yet to meet a Raider, said the game will be interesting, if nothing else.
"We're not too sure what to make of them yet, to be honest," he said.
"I know a few boys have played against a couple of their blokes but I haven't played against any of them. They've got some handy players that I've heard of so it'll be a good game.
"It will be interesting to see how this new competition goes."
Littlejohn addressed the injured Raiders' captain-coach, Alex Ronayne's rumoured boasting of their supposed premiership winning side, responding "every captain-coach is going to say that, I think we've got a premiership winning side too".
Playing ahead of the NRL fixture has got the blood pumping for the Dragons, particularly those who are yet to play in front of a crowd of such substance.
"There are a few boys who haven't played in front of a crowd like the one that will be there tomorrow so everyone is pretty excited," Littlejohn said.
Off the back of two incomplete seasons, the hope for Littlejohn is to have some finals footy, in addition to the obvious premiership title desire.
"It's been a bit of a longer wait this year because we didn't get to play finals last year so we're pretty excited, all of the boys are pumped up," he said.
"To play a full season would be nice. We've been cut short for two years because of COVID so hopefully we'll get a bit of finals footy."
Casey Burgess was a standout for Littlejohn during the pre-season, along with new first grade recruits hailing from Lithgow, Pacey Stockton and Cody Godden; "they've really impressed me," Littlejohn said.
Nathan Orr, Lee Hicks, Corin Smith, Jake Durrant, Jared Robinson, Jack Littlejohn (c), Pacey Stockton, Casey Burgess, Jake Gale, Clay Priest, Cody Godden, Chad Chandler, Ben Thompson, Hamish Bryant, Hudson Brown, Sebastian Flack and Josh Wilson Tuckey will lineup for the Mudgee Dragons on Saturday.
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Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
