Sunday proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the Orange Tigers women's side.
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The AFL Central West season launch was held in Parkes over the weekend, with both men and women's teams taking part in a pre-season round robin competition.
Damien Caughlan will be coaching the Tiger women in 2021 and was impressed by what he saw in Parkes.
"It will be a massive help with the girls we have who haven't played football before or had a lot of exposure to it," he said.
"It gave them a great hit out at specific positions to help them get a greater understanding of how the game goes and for our experienced girls, gave them an opportunity to build their confidence before the season starts."
They played three games on Sunday - all against last year's top three sides.
Although official scores weren't kept, Caughlan believes they won their last two matches against understrength Dubbo Demons and Bathurst Bushrangers outfits.
"It was pretty warm so by that game it was a pretty scrappy affair," the coach said of their clash against the Bushrangers.
"But I think our girls ended up winning that game and putting in another really good effort and showing determination to win the ball."
The pre-season has fared well for them as well.
They've picked up a few new players, with others finding a home at new positions.
"We picked up Brooke Whitty who is a soccer girl," Caughlan added.
"She was really good and filled in in the ruck for us when she probably won't be playing there in the year. She contested hard all day, played all three games in the ruck and won a lot of ball.
"There's also Mel Ryan, she played last year, but we changed her position on Sunday and she played a bit of full forward and took a couple of really good marks and kicked some goals."
Over on the men's side, first grade coach Dean Price was also pleased by what he saw from his boys.
"I think it's pretty even across the board," he said.
"We only played two games - against the Giants and Dubbo - but those games were pretty even and they looked like they were going alright too. I think it was pretty fair all around.
"There's definitely a different feeling in the air this year around the club. The boys are all up and about, pretty excited after the weekend and really keen to get into it."
They won't have to wait much longer to show what they've got either.
The draw has been released for all competitions with the first grade men travelling to Mulyan Oval to take on Dubbo in their opening clash. The women will also have an away game first up, as they take on the Bushrangers at George Park 2. Second grade men have the bye.
Round 2 will then be the home opener for all three squads, with first grade taking on the Bushrangers, second grade facing the Bathurst Rebels and the women up against the Demons.
The 15-round season will finish on August 21, with all three sides travelling to Dubbo.
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