New rivalries, roadtrips and the chance to honour the competition's namesake - it's set to be a historic season of rugby league as the Cowra Magpies mark their return to first grade in the Peter McDonald Premiership.
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The Magpies will fittingly start their 2022 campaign at home on the weekend of April 9 and 10 against Lithgow Workies before contesting the Chad Nealon Memorial match against Bathurst Panthers in round two at Sid Kallas Oval.
A feature of the new competition are plans for crossover matches with Group 11 sides, with the Magpies set to face Nyngan, Parkes and Dubbo CYMS throughout the season.
As a result, Cowra, along with Mudgee, will be making more than 2000km worth of round trips for away games during the season - the most in Group 10.
Cowra Magpies president Marc McLeish said the club was behind the draw after changes were implemented late last year.
"We made it quite clear from the very start that, in order to support these changes, somebody had to go to Nyngan," he said.
"We've got our responsibilities to other clubs as well as our own. It's really not a concern to us this year because we've seemed to hit a bit of a purple patch with our numbers and overall attitude to the footy."
McLeish said the club is relishing the chance to face the Group 11 sides to see how they measure up against the neighbouring competition.
"Dubbo CYMS... they've been the benchmark of Group 11 footy for quite some time now," McLeish said.
"If you want to win the comp, you have to beat the best and I think we will certainly give it a good crack.
"Time will tell whether this is going to work but, as a club, we've decided we've got to support anything that creates or is attempting to fix the situation that country footy's in, particularly in our area."
A change to the draw will also now see Cowra face traditional rivals Bathurst Panthers twice in the season.
"Having that sentimental game with Panthers in Cowra was pretty important to us and it's nice they've taken that into account," McLeish said.
Before the regular season kicks off, the Magpies will turn their attention to the under 21s competition, which starts on February 12.
The young swoopers will compete in a pool which includes the Parkes Spacemen and Forbes Magpies.
"Unfortunately the under 21s in our pool, we weren't able to secure a fourth team for that," McLeish said.
"It only guarantees us three regular season games but we're pretty confident we will field a side that will push on in the competition.
"I don't think we'll have any trouble getting up to game speed and it's going to be hot... I don't think we'll be seeing any fast, exciting football... It's really good to get a few of those twenty somethings staying in the game a little bit longer."
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Kelsey Sutor
I've had a love of writing from a young age and, combined with my interest in current events, journalism seemed like a natural fit for me. I like to write a little bit about everything but my true passion lies in finding those untold stories from everyday people. Got an idea? Let me know - kelsey.sutor@austcommunitymedia.com.au
I've had a love of writing from a young age and, combined with my interest in current events, journalism seemed like a natural fit for me. I like to write a little bit about everything but my true passion lies in finding those untold stories from everyday people. Got an idea? Let me know - kelsey.sutor@austcommunitymedia.com.au
