Bathurst Bushrangers to face Orange Tigers in opening round of AFL Central West season

On a ground that's typically difficult to play at a high tempo, any additional rain is going to make the round one contest a game where disposals are more valuable than ever.

It's a challenging trip for the Bushrangers to start their campaign, on top of the fact they'll be down several players for the trip to Orange.

But co-coach Tim Hunter isn't short on confidence when it comes to the team's depth.

"We have a few out this week. Similar to every sporting club around at the moment, we'll be impacted week to week with COVID and other unavailabilities," he said.

"There's a few out due to that but other than that we're still looking really solid, and a couple of younger guys will get a chance, plus a couple of new blokes will play their first game as well. It's exciting on all fronts."

There's a couple of new faces ready to make a statement as soon as possible with the club.

Hunter said the club will benefit greatly from the new blood, and he already has a strong idea of what the recruits can bring to the squad.

"We've got Hugh Templeton and Josh Connellan. They're both over from Wagga. They trained with us all of last year and travelled back to play, but this year they've jumped on board," he said.

"We're really excited to see what they'll bring to the footy club and we're excited to see what they can bring on the track."

This week's rain is certain to make Saturday's clash a tough one on the legs.

Hunter said he'll travel to Orange expecting a slower field but won't be making too many assumptions about how it will affect the game.

"It's looking that way but obviously we don't know until the day," he said.

"It's a tough ground to play at and I think that's part of the challenge, which we're looking forward to. No matter what weather is thrown at us I think the boys are that keen that it won't bother them. We're really looking forward to it, it should be good."

Bushrangers have had the Tigers' measure in recent seasons but Hunter won't be using that to gauge his expectations for this Saturday's first round.

The only thing he's expecting from the Tigers is physicality and enthusiasm, something his side needs to match from the outset.

"You don't really know what to expect in these competitions until you start playing. Things change throughout the year," he said.

"What we will expect is the same tough, hard Orange Tigers that they always are to play against."

Bushrangers and Tigers will face off from 2.15pm.

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