The Singleton Greyhounds will be looking to further blood an exciting array of young talent as they prepare for the start of the Group 21 Rugby League season on Sunday, April 21.
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Singleton is away to Scone in all four grades in the first round and then is at home to Greta Branxton the following week again in all four grades.
The Greyhounds under-18s were premiers last season and have made the past two grand finals under new first grade coach Daniel Higgins.
A number of the team have already had first grade experience including Group 21 rookie of the year and Singleton rookie of the year young second rower Gabe Stafa, and Jack Smyth who was a regular on the win in 2023.
One of the young players Singleton will be expecting big things from is Jai Davies 2023 who was U18s premiership winning captain and Group 21 player of the year, along with Mitchell Wells.
Higgins, as coach, will be able to draw on most of last season's senior squad and the club has also added a number of new recruits including Kyall Sweeney a hooker from Townsville club North Thuringowa Devils, Trent Lane and Blake Trees who is returning to the club.
Singleton Greyhounds president Doug Spencer said they were delighted that Higgins accepted the first grade coaching position.
"Higgo has coached our 18s to two Grand Finals wins and is ready to take the next step," Spencer said.
"He is passionate about our club and is excited at this opportunity."
The club has plenty to build on with reserve grade making the elimination semi-final only to suffer a narrow loss to Greta Branxton.
The Under-18s and Ladies League Tag both won their premierships.
Jacob Rinkin and Nelson Gardiner will be joint coaches of the Under-18s, Maddy Sonter is at the helm of the Ladies League Tag team and Mitchell Nott is the reserve grade coach.
Spencer said with the emergence of so much young talent coming into grade ranks it would not surprise anyone if the Greyhounds made the semi-finals this season after narrowly missing out on a spot last year.
"Player wise things are going ok, we've got a few new signing come on board," he said.
"One of the interest things is that we've had a few Fijians come along to training and they are pretty keen on having a game so that could be a really big boost for the overall squad.
"We've got plenty of players across the teams, which is great for competition.
"The under-18s are looking exceptionally well, they'll go close again.
"A lot of the girls are back on board, but we have lost some after the premiership.
"That can happen after a grand final win, but the girls will be competitive."
Michael Hartshorn
Since starting in 1985 at the then Melbourne Herald, journalism has taken me around Australia from Victoria, to the Northern Territory, Cairns in Queensland and now Port Stephens. After all those years there is still something special about informing and connecting with readers.
Since starting in 1985 at the then Melbourne Herald, journalism has taken me around Australia from Victoria, to the Northern Territory, Cairns in Queensland and now Port Stephens. After all those years there is still something special about informing and connecting with readers.
