Parkes Cobras will walk out onto the field for their first game in the 2025 Western Premier League competition this Saturday against defending premiers Bathurst 75. The Parkes Cobras have been preparing for the season with eight weeks of preseason training where coach Wayne Osbourne said there has been a really good number of players every week, giving the Cobras the opportunity to build up to the start of the season. The 2025 Parkes Cobras team will see a change on the card with some regular players taking a step back this year and junior players stepping up. "We're pretty excited about the prospect of showcasing some of the homegrown juniors that we have been able to develop ourselves over the last couple of years," Osbourne said. "With any new players they bring a lot of enthusiasm and that's been on display during preseason training with the young guys who have everything to prove and are really enthusiastic about getting out there and playing." Osbourne says this enthusiasm and desire to get better every week will be the team's strength this year. His goal as a coach is to develop the younger players into a better version of themselves by supporting them along the way in their journey to being competitive premiere league players later in the season. Alongside Osbourne, Cameron Kopp will be leading the side on field in his role as captain. "Cameron is a foundation member of the Cobras and he's been there along the journey the whole time," Osbourne said. "He's a very experienced player, very respected within the premier league fraternity, well regarded within Parkes and District Football and all the juniors look up to Cameron." Unfortunately Kopp will be away for the Cobras' first match of the season but they will be led by a very capable Joel Cowling. Looking towards Saturday's game Osbourne said it is a tough way to start the season up against defending premiers on their home turf. "The 75 have been a very strong side for a long time now, having great depths of players in their own junior development," he said. "We know it's going to be a really tough task coming up against a team of such quality but again our guys are enthusiastic about playing top local football so they really don't care who they are playing against, they just want to go out there and play to the best of their ability." The following weekend the Cobras will be off to Dubbo against Dubbo Macquarie who are also a very strong team in the competition. "It doesn't get any easier for us in the second round," Osbourne said. "The first two weeks are going to be quite testing but hopefully as a unit we stick together and play well, and we will develop into a stronger group of players." Looking back on last season Osbourne said they were very fortunate that some of their junior players were really shining towards the end of the season. Harry Budd, Hayden Lamond and Frasier Beaton will be some juniors to watch out for. "Harry picked up some awards for his efforts, Hayden was our best and fairest winner last year and Frasier was another guy who has really shined at preseason training." The Cobras will be focusing on bringing this momentum of their junior players into the new season. "It's a year of development, we'll probably struggle against some of the stronger clubs but the guys we've got playing are really keen to develop into footballers, not only this year but going forward into years to come so hopefully that's something we can achieve together," Osbourne added. The Cobras first home game of the season will be Saturday, 3 May at Woodward Park against Orange Waratahs. Make sure to come and check out the Cobras in action, and cheer on our local team on home turf.
