There is a powerful old and new feel about the Greater Northern Tigers' Laurie Daley Cup quest this year.
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Ahead of the under-18 side's opening match against the Newcastle Knights at Maitland on Sunday afternoon, the "old" feel is provided by the side being similar to last year's lineup.
While the "new" is provided by former Blues enforcer Tom Learoyd-Lahrs accepting the coaching job, and the NSWRL now running the competition following its historic merger with the CRL late last year.
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Tigers pathways manager Peter Stevens, coach of the 18s last year, is excited by the team's chances in 2020.
"We had a trial against the Western Rams a couple of weeks ago and both squads [including the under-16 Andrew Johns Cup side] acquitted themselves very well," he said.
"The 18s are probably in a good spot," he added. "We've kept a lot of the 17-year-olds from last year. So they're predominately an 18-year-old squad, which we haven't had for a long time. And then there's a good blend of 17-year-olds in it."
The under-16 Tigers, who play Newcastle in the opening match at Maitland on Sunday morning, were "green" but had trained well, Stevens said, adding: "And it will be interesting to see how they stack up."
Tigers under-16s: Aiden Birmingham, Joash Boney, Jake Clydsdale, Thomas Donahue, Kurt Fischer, Jack Grob, Malakia Griffiths, Calum Goodwin, Corbin Hampstead, Malik Hunt, Lewis Hippi, Ben Jones, Matt Jones, Mitch Kemp, Hunter Marsh, Dan McMillan, Junah Warden, Billy Youman
Tigers under-18s: Liam Ball, Kobe Bone, Hugh Collins, Pichai Dixon, Harrison Freeman, Blake Ginman, Mitchell Henderson, Daniel Kelly, Blair Maloney, Kaleb McMillan Bassett, Brayden Reid, Mackenzie Shepherdson, Jackson Shade, Mark Simon, Luke Smith, Jacob Sukanaivalu, Jack Todd, Sebastian Pianko
