As defending cup holders, Orange CYMS know they'll have a target on their back when they take part in this week's Bathurst Knockout.
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CYMS scraped home in last year's final, defeating city rival Hawks 13-12.
Coach Dan Mortimer's side have been drawn in pool B alongside Mudgee and tournament hosts Panthers.
"It's a tough draw but that's what you want out of pre-season games," he said.
"We're treating the knockout as a chance to give some boys some run.
"We want to win every game we play but I was quite happy we get a guaranteed two games as well with the pools instead of the knockout, so it will give us a good chance to know they'll verse two quality sides and see where we're at."
The defending champ's first game will be at 11.45am on Saturday against Mudgee, before they have a short turnaround to take on Panthers at 1.15pm.
"In our pool, Panthers have obviously won a few competitions and have the home ground advantage," Mortimer said.
"So they'll be our first threat. If we can beat them, we'll go a long way."
Mortimer said they have had good numbers during pre-season and that they are itching to get a game.
"You can only do so much training before you get a bit antsy for footy season again," he said.
"Having last year off you don't know what it's going to do, whether boys drift away from footy or come back even keener, and it seems to be the second option at the moment which is good."
It's not just about the final score though. Mortimer wants to see his team display what they've learnt this pre-season
"The most important thing is just that they've engaged with the game plan and that they're showing a good work ethic and doing the little things that we've been working on," he said.
"We're all competitive and we want to win, but it's more about how we play which I'll really be focusing on.
"While it would be nice to win the Bathurst Knockout, it's the last few games of the year which we really want to win."
CYMS will also send a reserve grade side to Bathurst.
Their first game will take place Friday evening at 6.05pm against mid-west club the Portland Colts. Should they triumph, they will take on the winner of St Pats and Hawks in the semi-final, with the grand final set for Saturday afternoon.
The first grade side that will travel to Bathurst is: 1 Lachie Munro, 2 Hayden Spencer, 3 Matt Clarke, 4 Dom Maley, 5 Sam Murphy, 6 Mitch Britt, 7 Daniel Mortimer, 8 Cam Jones, 9 Ryan Moore, 10 Joey Ualesi, 11 Adam Stanford, 12 Ethan Bereyne, 13 Joseph Duffy; BENCH: 14 Josh Board, 15 Liam Kennedy, 16 Robbie Mortimer, 17 Anthony Redfern.
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