Woodbridge Cup draw released with Josh Dugan set for home showing first up

Orange United have been drawn against Peak Hill in their opening match of the competition, which for now, will take place on April 25.

"I think it's really good work by Orange United Warriors and it's not just great for Woodbridge, but it's great for country footy," Woodbridge Cup president Andrew Pull said of the Dugan signing.

"We always like having stars come back to the bush and I don't think there's any more bush than places like Condobolin, Peak Hill and Canowindra.

"I think it's absolutely terrific and everyone is going to be happy to see him. He might not just be playing, but signing a few autographs from the kids too."

The Warriors will not host the competition's opener as it currently stands though. That honour goes to Eugowra who will play Oberon at home on Saturday, April 24.

So far just ten games total have been scheduled for Saturdays throughout the 14-game season.

Pull said this was a number they hoped would increase.

"With the old Woodbridge, we only had enough referees to have one Saturday every week," he added.

"There's a meeting with the referees associations this week to discuss how many referees are coming across from the old Mid-West and we have a relationship with Group 10 to see how many referees we've got available for both days.

"There's a 50-50 mix. Some clubs like Saturdays, some clubs don't. We definitely need to have more than one Saturday a round, it just comes down to the referees," said Pull.

Of the clubs scheduled to play on Saturday, Oberon have the most with five, followed by Condobolin, CSU, Trundle and Peak Hill with three each, while Grenfell (two) and Eugowra (one) are the only other clubs currently scheduled to play Saturday games.

With the three Mid-West teams merging into the Woodbridge comp, Pull said it was important to keep rivalries alive.

"The Manildra-Molong game is one of the most attended matches in country footy anywhere, then Canowindra and Eugowra have a rivalry going on over 100 years," he said.

Both of those matches will be played in rounds nine (July 3) and 13 (July 31) which appears to be somewhat of a rivalry week, with Condobolin taking on Peak Hill, Trundle playing Grenfell, Cargo playing Orange with Oberon and CSU to also clash.

There will be general byes on May 15 and June 12, with week one of the semi-finals to begin on August 14. The grand final would be played on September 4. The opening round games are (home team first): Orange v Peak Hill, Eugowra v Oberon, Manildra v Cargo, Condobolin v Trundle, Molong v Canowindra and Grenfell v CSU.

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