That is when Robinson, along with Steve Grundy, will attempt to guide the Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws to a season-opening win over Cowra at George Park 2.

Robinson has stepped up to coaching this year after making his Bushrangers debut last season in a senior competition which did not feature the Cowra Blues.

But the Blues regrouped in the off-season and have rejoined for the 2019 premiership. It makes them an unknown quantity, but Robinson has some idea of what to expect.

"I've hear they are quite a hard, physical team to play and we're expecting them to be the same this year. They've probably got about five or six old heads in there," he said.

Grundy, who co-coached the Bushrangers Rebels to a grand final last year, has switched to the Outlaws this season.

He has had plenty of firsthand experience of battling the Blue and is anticipating a hard-fought season opener.

"Bit of an unknown, but yeah, it's an exciting one. It's great to see them back in the comp and even though they're competition, we hope they do really well," he said.

"We hope they come over and create a great vibe, we are looking forward to playing them.

"We are expecting a very competitive team. It will give us a good measure of where we are at, how our pre-season has been.

"They are a very proud sporting town and the Blues have had a fantastic history, so we know they're coming over here for a win as well. We are expecting a hard game of footy."

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Though Cowra has in the main a new-look roster - the likes of Frank Bright and Chris Day are still there - the Outlaws also have changes to their squad from the side which placed fourth last year.

"It's only my second year, but I'm going to playing with 12-15 new people that were on the opposite team last year, so we've nearly switched them in half again," Robinson said.

"We are super excited and the whole squad is really pumped. We've got a pretty good list of players."

The Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels, who will be coached by Tim Hunter and Matt Archer, face the Dubbo Demons in their season opener.

The Demons were unlucky to miss out on last year's finals series - Outlaws claiming fourth spot on percentage - so Hunter is expecting a good contest.

"I think they'll be good, they are always competitive, you just don't really know until you play them, but I've heard they've recruited quite well," he said.

"Given they're usually competitive anyway, if they have got a few extra blokes it should be a good contest.

"In the past they've shown some days they can match it with the top sides and the next week they might struggle, but if they can get some consistency, I think they are going to be a really solid team." 

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Just as the Outlaws line-up is different to that of 2018, so too is the Rebels'.

Ryan O'Flaherty has joined the club from Adelaide, while Cody Carr and Andrew Knox have come from the Bushrangers' under 17s outfit which made last season's grand final. 

There are also players who were Outlaws last year that will now line up as Rebels.

"We'll continue to mix players up and do it that way, it just means that players aren't labelled with just one team, at the end of the day we are all Bushies," Hunter said.

"This year there is a fair bit of mixing around, that's the way the draft goes and it has worked well for us in the past. We've got a few new guys from uni and a few new guys from town as well, it's always a positive having new faces.

"We've done a fair bit of pre-season work, we started before Christmas lightly and have upped it the last couple of months.

"So we are keen to get into a game."

The Outlaws and Cowra will play the opening game of the 2019 season from noon at George Park 2 on Saturday, with the Rebels versus Demons fixture to follow from 2.30pm.