Skelton’s at the helm of a very young Orange outfit set to take on the championship’s division two title race, out of pool A, alongside Nepean (1), Illawarra South Coast (2) and Metro South West (2).

Skelton’s the Wanderers captain, too, so leading a senior side isn’t new to him, add to that he’ll be joined by a stack of his men’s Premier League Hockey teammates, like Henry Jones, Bailey Ferguson and Connor Morris, and the young skipper says making the step up a class in hockey come game one on Saturday should be a relatively smooth transition.

And he’s more than happy to lead the Orange side out.

“I love being captain,” Skelton said.

“I’ve done it a fair bit in junior rep stuff coming through the grades but this is the first time I’ve captained the senior side.

“I’m Wanderers captain as well, so that makes this job a bit easier. I know all the boys and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“We do go in blind a bit, but once we’re there and you see who’s in what side, you know what you’re up against.”

With a shortened campaign and only four teams in the pool, Orange will make the finals but ensuring a semi-final place is the goal.

To do that, Orange will need to start well when it faces Nepean in game one on Saturday afternoon at the Moorebank Hockey Centre, from 1pm.

“We should go alright, we know others sides will be tough but we should hold our own,” Skelton said.

“It’s a big help that the side we’re taking away is our premier league side. We’re a young side, but we’ve played together since juniors.

“If we play the full game hopefully we can come away with a few wins.”

After Orange plays Nepean (1), the boys back up against Illawarra South Coast (2) from 4.45pm. Sunday’s game starts at 12.15pm.