The Island Boys' return, Newcastle Wanderers' title defence and the Aidan Brice All Stars' bid to go one better at this weekend's Orange City Rugby Invitational 10s have created plenty of buzz, so much so an undeniable contender has flown completely under the radar.
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The Jack Blunt Legends claimed the 2015 and 2017 titles, are locked in to turn out again and, despite the fact they've not been spoken about as much as their other big-name counterparts, with the side they're boasting there's little doubt they'll be there when the whips are cracking.
A youthful outfit, this weekend the Jack Blunt Legends will boast a side that's drawn from Orange City, Orange Emus, Blayney Rams and Orange Hawks, while they've picked up a couple of ring-ins from outside the colour city too.
Orange City Lions stalwart Tom Nell will front as usual, and he'll be joined by the likes of Ben Swadling, Blake Hummerston, Jared Brodrick, Cam Cole, Deryne McKenzie, Jordan Baker, Sam Dwyer, Mitch Pearce, Taylor Smith and Sam Greatbatch.
That's some serious firepower, by anyone's standards.
"We do have a handy side this year, everyone gets around it and sticks their hands up every year because it's always a great afternoon," Nell said.
"I think we'll go alright, we always seem to. It'll be tough because there's some other pretty handy sides coming this year, pretty exciting players too so I think it'll be pretty good to watch in general.
"The goal's always to win but it's as much about getting a good bunch of blokes together and having some fun, playing in the memory of Jack and continuing the team is a big thing for all of us as well."
Former Wallaby and Orange City legend James Grant formed the side some 15 years ago and it became a memorial side after its namesake died in 2013, Jack Blunt was on hand to watch the outfit claim the trophy twice before that though.
They've been drawn in Pool C on Saturday with the hosts Orange City, Wollongong and Briars under 20s, the being one of two sides the NSW Suburban Rugby Union club is bringing to Pride Park.
They'll take on the Lions in their opening pool clash, at the same time Wanderers clash with UNSW in Pool A and the Aidan Brice All Stars and Island Boys face-off in a mouth-watering opening round encounter.
The tournament, worth more than $5,000 in prizemoney, kicks off from 1pm, with the Waratahs Sports Club Cup, See Saw Wines Plate, Ideal Conditions Bowl and Tandy Welding Women's finals set to begin from 3.20pm.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
