Can Dubbo CYMS be stopped?
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That's the question everyone is asking heading into the 2024 Peter McDonald Premiership.
The defending premiers look every bit the side to beat and will start the season, yet again, with a target on their back.
Townsend to take his time
What stood out last season was the way coach Shawn Townsend tinkered with his lineup and took the time to learn during the first half of the season.
Players were put in different positions and different tactics were used so when finals arrived, the side was perfectly placed for every scenario.
"Don't expect us to be playing footy anything like we will be later on in the comp," Townsend said of round one earlier this month.
"Our attack won't be anywhere near what it will be later on. We're starting again from scratch."
Chanse Burgess and Tom Hughes were key parts of the title win at lock and at centre respectively but both have departed the club.
A major newcomer to the side is Jack Quinn, who has most recently been playing in the Queensland Cup and in Sydney and he's someone who is expected to add plenty to the forward pack.
Getting accustomed to the changes will take time, according to Townsend, who's happy to try things again.
"It's going to take a few weeks for us to sort out who's best-suited where," the coach said.
"There might be some things we try to do differently in the middle to try and mix things up again and we'll see if it works. If it doesn't we'll try something else or go back to what we were doing last year."
Going to another level
New faces will cause things to change at CYMS, but a number of existing players are expected to improve further in 2024.
"We're over the moon with the two Cleary boys," Townsend said of Jaymn and Mitch, who developed into key players last season and are now 23 and 21.
"Jaymn has just got a really mature body at the moment. He's put on a few kilos and he's been training well so we're over the moon with him.
"Mitch is the same. He's just a fit kid. He's getting bigger but he's still only 21."
Players from outside the regular first grade group have also impressed.
Winger Jack Allen was singled out by Townsend, while plenty of praise was heaped on Brad Spencer.
A regular first-grader for a lot of last decade, back-rower Spencer has spent recent years in reserve grade at both Macquarie and CYMS.
"The last few years he was playing reserve grade and he'd only turn up (at training) in April so we'd put a bit of a line through his name," Townsend said.
"He's probably only missed two or three sessions the whole time and has trained really well."
How they could line up
Could Troyden Dixon force Jeremy Thurston out of the fullback spot?
That's the big question at CYMS.
Dixon has been putting in the work at pre-season after catching the eye when given a chance last year and he could earn time at fullback.
That would result in Thurston moving to centre, where he was so devastating during CYMS' run to the 2022 grand final.
Mitch Cleary at centre could also tempt the coach. Harry Ritchie is also in the mix while premiership-winning winger John Grey has come out of retirement this season.
Up front, Ben Marlin may move back to lock to accommodate Quinn in the front-row.
Potential lineup: 1 Troyden Dixon, 2 Ratu Roko, 3 Jyie Chapman, 4 Jeremy Thurston, 5 Corey Drew, 6 Claude Gordon, 7 Jordi Madden, 8 Jarryn Powyer, 9 Alex Bonham, 10 Jack Quinn, 11 Billy Sing, 12 Mitch Cleary, 13 Ben Marlin; Bench: 14 Jaymn Cleary, 15 James Stanley, 16 Jayden Merritt, 17 Tom Stimpson.
Our say
This first grade side has played in every grand final since 2013. It's an insane record.
Quinn is an extremely exciting addition and if younger players the Clearys, Jordi Madden and Troyden Dixon improve further then CYMS will be expected to go back-to-back.
The fullback and centre decisions will be important but there's just quality and depth in every position.
It wouldn't be a shock whatsoever to see the Fishies holding the silverware aloft again next September.