OVA Mushies to take on Bellingen in second round of Australia Cup

And while that may yet prove to be the case, coach Tim Coates said things are looking as they often do at this point in the pre-season: "Ugly".

But there were good signs from last Sunday's trial hit-out against Narrabri, who Coates said "have been one of the benchmarks of the Namoi league for a long time".

"It was good to see where we're sitting," Coates said.

"We were able to try some different players out in different positions, which was great, and we'll take 15 guys out to Bellingen on Sunday."

The away match against Bellingen will take place in the second round of the Australia Cup.

While, on paper, their upcoming opponents might not be the strongest they have ever faced, Coates knows far better than to take any team for granted.

"Regional football clubs change every year," he said.

"They finished eighth or ninth in their coastal premier league last year, that doesn't mean they haven't got a whole lot of new players this year."

Clubs often take one of two approaches to similar pre-season tournaments.

They either see early competitions as a chance to sharpen their skills, fitness, and team cohesion, or go in looking to win and get off to a strong start for the year.

The Mushies, Coates said, are looking to do both.

"You always want to benchmark yourself against teams you don't play against on a regular basis," he said.

"Miles in the legs is super important, and it's also about bonding new players, blooding new players in.

"It's all of those things, it's giving opportunity, seeing where your players are at, miles in legs, everything."

Thankfully for OVA, their recruitment went well over the off-season, and the club has welcomed a number of new players to its ranks.

Additionally, a number who were out for some or all of the 2022 season will also return this year, which Coates said was "great".

"We always lose a few, like most clubs," he said.

"People going to uni, people moving away for work, stuff like that. We're very fortunate to have a few players who've had a year off or who've had some injuries who decided to come back and play this year with us."

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