THEY have lost a premiership winning player-coach, their Argentinian recruit is stuck overseas, but Bathurst City is still excited about the prospect of women's Premier League Hockey in 2020.
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Like other competitions under the Hockey NSW banner, the Central West's Premier League Hockey is targeting a return to play in July.
If that were to happen, it would be a very different looking Bathurst City squad to the one which last played on August 3, 2019.
Lisa Quinn, who guided Bathurst City to the 2017 premiership, has departed as has forward Jade Te Weehi.
With Quinn gone, foundation Bathurst City coach Jill Long - herself a premiership winning mentor - returns to guide the side along with Taylor Tattersall and Mal Willott. Maureen Markwick will manage the team.
"Lisa Quinn leaving is an amazing loss not just for Bathurst City, but Bathurst itself. A player of her calibre plus her coaching ability will be sadly missed by a lot of people," Long said.
Though Quinn will be missed, City will still have experience in its ranks should 2020 proceed.
Former stars Kelsey Willott and Brooke McFadden are poised for their return, while Lithgow trio Halle Roberts, Tameka Potter [nee Bostock] and Emily Thompson have made the switch.
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Long and her coaching staff are also crossing their fingers that another new recruit - talented defender Angie Been - may be able to join them.
"She is an Argentinian player who's husband has got work here in Bathurst. She will be playing with us, but at this stage she's still stuck in Argentina," Long said.
"She was due to be playing, she only went for a holiday back to see her parents. She was going to be playing the whole time she was back there, so she was going to come back to us fully fit and ready to go."
Last season was the first time since Bathurst City's inaugural campaign in 2007 that they did not play finals hockey.
But that disappointment is acting a motivation for the returning members of the squad.
"If we can get back on, we have a great squad. Yes, last year was a disappointment, but we've got to work on it and we will," Long said.
"We have a great squad and we have a great junior squad under them and they'd been at training the whole time up until isolation, so the future looks good as well."
As for what format City would like to see a 2020 women's Premier League Hockey competition take should it go ahead, Long and her players want there to be a title on the line. It is one they would fight hard to win.
"We would like to be playing for a premiership trophy definitely," she said.
"Even if - there's eight teams in the women's - even if it's only one round if we have to have, any more than that great. But we definitely want, if it's possible, a 2020 competition.
"It was going great, we have a great squad, healthy numbers. We were going absolutely fantastic until we had to isolate.
"The moment we know and get permission to come back out and train, the girls will go back to training. Even if it's 10 or less, we will do something immediately.
"My girls they would be so excited to play hockey in 2020, they're waiting."
