Nyngan Tigers captain-coach Jacob Neill proud despite injuries and defeats

Neill is one of a number of Tigers currently out injured and his under strength side suffered a heavy 64-24 loss at Mudgee last weekend.

The side will again be without a number of troops for Sunday's meeting with the Wellington Cowboys but, as has been the case all season, Neill remains upbeat as his focus is on development during this rebuilding year for the club.

"I think it's a part of the process," Neill said of last weekend.

"We're looking good for the future with locals kids and local people and they'll be better off after moments like that.

"I know that's bad to say but you've got to go through a bit of hardship and learn a bit about yourself before you get the rewards.

"It's the right group of people to experience that and the way they handled themselves was unreal in the circumstances we were in."

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Conversations about the 2023 season are already happening at Nyngan, with a real focus on retaining juniors and this year's players while adding a touch of quality and depth.

Neill describes it as a "funny situation" as on paper the side only has two wins to its name this year but the Tigers have regularly pushed some of the top teams and that, combined with the development of the younger players, has created plenty of pride.

Regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season, the captain-coach has no doubt it will put his players in good stead for 2023 and beyond.

"It's not all doom and gloom," Neill said.

"For the team we've got and with what we're trying to do, the job isn't done yet, but it's been a really good year in terms of growth as a club."

The Tigers are fifth in the Group 11 pool and can't make finals this year but they remain three points ahead of the winless Wellington Cowboys.

Nyngan will be without the likes of Neill, suspended halfback Josh Bermingham and Jyde Dwyer for Sunday's match at Kennard Park but the sidelined captain-coach still has faith in his players.

"You've got two towns who are in a bit of a rebuilding phase and we're definitely going down there to put in a good performance and they're looking for their first win so that makes for a good game of football," Neill said.

"They're still a quality side and any with (Justin) Toomey-White in the side will be hard to beat. I think they've been hard done by and playing pretty well considering where they've come from so they'll be hard to beat but we're looking for a win, for sure."

Despite the absences there's still plenty to like about the Nyngan side with Sam Simmons again at fullback while Farren Lamb returns at five-eighth.

Mitch Williams-Hedges, who wore the number six at Mudgee, shifts to halfback in place of Bermingham while Copper Ryan joins Cameron Bourke in the front-row and juniors Jacob Shone, Bill Quarmby and Braith Boyd are all on the bench.

"Cameron Bourke has been around for a few years now and I'll be looking for him to stand up," Neill said, looking at Sunday.

"He's a mate of mine and someone I've played football with for awhile. He's always floated around first grade and he showed a bit of ticker last weekend so I'll be looking for him to lead the boys around.

"There's Sam Simmons at the back but the main one if Jak Jeffery. We've moved him to hooker and he's really stood up so I'll be looking to him to really stand up this weekend and lead the guys around.

"He'll be the captain again and it will be a really good experience for him to be in that situation where your character can get tested. It's about how you handle it."

The action starts from 11am at Wellington on Sunday.