THEY say 80 minutes is a long time in footy - well 20 months without Group 11 rugby league is even longer.
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Much to the relief of footy fans all over the Central West, Group 11 returns this weekend after a COVID-19 enforced hiatus in 2020 and the Parkes Spacemen will be kicking things off with a trip up to Victoria Park in Dubbo to take on CYMS in the opening match.
Spacemen coach Brent Wood knows it will be a tough game to start the season, but he's confident his charges can absolutely give the Group 11 powerhouse a run for their money.
"CYMS will be a decent challenge straight off the bat, but we've been working really hard at training so our aim will be to bring the energy and intensity for the full 80 minutes," he said.
"In the past we've matched it with them for big patches of the game then fallen away, so this Saturday I just want the boys to dig in, and if we can do that we can get the win."
Unfortunately for Wood and his Spacies, a few injury concerns have thrown a couple of curveballs, but he's confident the depth in the squad can cover any missing players.
"We've got a couple of injuries; Sam Dwyer will be out the next two weeks or so, and both Chad Porter and Jacob Smede are in doubt for the game so that has thrown a spanner in the works.
"But we've got Wes Middleton who can come into the halves, while Jack Creith will push back to cover Sammy (Dwyer) at fullback.
"Connor Farrer will be important for us at dummy half; he's working on a few things at the moment, but he has a lot of energy and is very strong for his size so we'll be looking for him to get our sets off to good starts," said Wood.
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Dubbo CYMS has played in every grand final since 2011, and with new coach Shawn Townsend at the helm they are expecting to be challenging for the title again in 2021 in what is shaping up to be an extremely tight competition.
Generally one of the best sides in bush footy, there is a sense of an unknown about CYMS this year with a lot of player movement, but the same core group of players who have been there for a number of years remain.
That core group is made-up of Jarryn Powyer, Alex Bonham, Ben Marlin, Billy Sing, and Jyie Chapman - and they will be the ones Parkes will need to be watching carefully.
The action begins at 11am with Senior League Tag, with first grade kicking off at 2.30pm.
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