The milestone year kicks off in round one this weekend with the senior Wombats hosting Narromine at Glen Willow. Second grade are facing Narromine as well which will be a grand final rematch not to be missed. The Wombats women will also be looking for a win against Yeoval, a new side in the competition.

Kicking off the pre-season, the club announced a raft of new appointments including a number of new captains. Tom Baddock, Tom Dunstan and Scott Hedrick will share duties as the side looks to the season ahead.

"Tom's been in the side for a couple of years now and has really, started to take a senior role in there. So I think seeing that each of those players have got different leadership qualities," First Grade coach John Carters said.

"I think that that will allow the players to have a really well-represented voice in the side and get plenty of ideas into how we play and what we do. I think that'll be really, really great for the team to have those three guys in those positions."

The Colts season is looking rosy too. The under 18s side was part of a 2023 season which saw a paltry three sides compete. In 2024 things are looking to be much improved with a change in the age restrictions to under 19s bringing more clubs on board. The Dubbo Kangaroos, Forbes Platypi and Mudgee Wombats contested the competition last year but now could be joined by as many as four other Central West Clubs. The Bathurst Bulldogs, Dubbo Rhinos, Orange City Lions and Orange Emus have all confirmed their intentions to field teams in 2024.

"It's going to be a really great day out at Glen Willow," Carters said.

"The grade games in particular should be fantastic fixtures. Narromine are a side that are - they're probably a little bit similar than us, a little bit younger, but been playing together for a couple of years and just seem to be improving year after year.

"So I think there's going to be some cracking games and well worth getting out, having a look at the new jerseys and the new playing groups and see how they go."

Those new jerseys were created in celebration of the club's 150^th year in 2024. "We wanted to do that as a commemoration for those that are playing this year and being involved in that, but they're really special jerseys," Carters said.

Mudgee Rugby Club is one of the oldest rugby clubs in Australia. The club was founding member of the Southern Rugby Football Union formed in 1874, the same year that Bathurst and Newcastle formed their clubs. Only Goulburn, who formed in 1872 and Albion Maitland who formed in 1873 came before Mudgee.

The junior Wombats are where future stars are made and John wanted to put the call out for anyone young players keen to have a go to get in touch.

"It all starts with our junior base. And I think that's what made last year pretty special as a club, even though some of the older grades didn't get the results they were hoping, under 12s got a premiership and, and so did our women," Carters said.

"There's just a great sense of that... excitement and togetherness being the fact that it's a 150th year of the club."

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