Starling, who joined the Tigers in 2018 after playing 80 NRL games for South Sydney, Manly and Newcastle, takes the reins from Luke Braninghan, who signed for Bathurst St Pat's in the off-season.

He's been impressed with what he's seen at training so far, especially from some of the juniors, but said the knockout will be a good indication of where his team is at. 

"Some of the young kids have been stepping up from the 18s. They've all been trying hard like Jake Foley and Ray Sargent, who are both 16 playing in the 18s," he said. 

"Overall, it's been great, with all the boys training really hard. They're ready to rip in again this year.

"Obviously they're a bit disappointed with their performances last year, which is understandable. We're looking forward to have a good crack this weekend."

Starling said Oberon is trying to put an emphasise on bringing through local talent and while there might not be too many payers to pick from, the ones he has at his disposal is good.

"I've been impressed with the young, local talents that have been at every training session, working on their game," he said. 

"There's not too many kids to choose from, but the ones we have, they've been so good. We're just excited they'll be getting a run." 

Come Friday night, Oberon will take on Orange Hawks at 9.20pm.

Played at Carrington Park from 9.20pm Starling said the Willie Heta-led Hawks will pose a serious challenge, considering the obvious potential in the two blues' run to third in 2018.

"[Hawks are] a very good team. A lot of them have been together for a few years now, so they'll be tough to beat," Starling said. 

"But we don't read to much into the knockout. We're just keen to go out there, have a run and jell with each other. We're not too fussed about the results [of the knockout]. We just want to hit the ground running when the season starts."

The Bathurst Panthers Knockout kicks off with St Pat's taking on CSU Bathurst in the reserve grade tournament at 5.30pm on Friday, with Saturday's second day starting at 10am.

Orange CYMS have the opening round bye and will play the winner of Panthers and Lithgow Workies on Saturday morning, while Barbarians take Oberon's reserve graders at 6.40pm on Friday night.