Leeton United will be given the chance at their first real taste of that winning feeling should they take out their round one Riverina Cup match this weekend.
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Leeton will be hosting Wagga United on Saturday afternoon at the MIA Club sportsground, with the hosts expecting an interesting hit out in their opening clash of the new competition.
The Riverina Cup is being played for the first time in 2024 and is the precursor to the kick off the regular Football Wagga competition in April.
Leeton United coach Rhys Jones was hopeful his team would get a win on the board and advance through to round two.
Players taking part in the Riverina Cup need to be registered before taking to the field, with Jones hoping that wouldn't be an issue for Leeton United.
"We're still waiting on a few registrations to go through from some of our players, but it should be fine," he said.
"At the moment we're thinking it will be a similar sort of team to what we had last year, but there might be some younger players stepping up as well."
With the Pascoe Cup season proper looming, Jones said this new fixture was a good way for teams to size each other up and see where everyone is at before the regular matches kick off.
United has already been focused on getting in as much game practice as possible during its pre-season campaign, which included a hit out against Yoogali SC in Griffith earlier this month.
"From this game we're hoping to get more of an indication of where we are at," Jones said.
"We want to see what we need to do to progress as a team.
"The league will be stronger this year again with the new clubs coming in, so we will need to be at our best if we want to compete with top teams."
Jones said the Riverina Cup had many benefits for players and club, saying it allowed for extra match fitness in the legs and insights for coaches.
"They are friendly matches I guess, but it's good to get a look in at teams early on in the year, not just at ourselves, but our opposition as well," he said.
"We're hoping for a good hit out against Wagga and then we'll assess from there."
Jones said the idea was for Leeton United to return to making their home ground a fortress for travelling opposition this season.
He would like to see that goal be chipped away at this weekend in the Riverina Cup.
"You always want to be winning on your home ground," he said.
The fixture will kick off at 3pm on Saturday, March 2 at the MIA Club sportsground, with spectators welcome to attend.
