“There was a very animated hit out last night (Wednesday),” Nicol said. 

Nicol said it was a little too animated as two players were injured. 

“We don’t need to play other teams, we can do the damage ourselves,” he said with a laugh. 

However, the club is raring to play and Nicol said the club has strong numbers for its senior squads. 

“The pleasing thing is we won’t have any trouble fielding two competitive sides this year in first and development grades.”

The Bombers will take on the Merimbula Diggers in the two senior grades, while its under 16s will play the Breakers at Bermagui. 

Nicol had earlier said Pambula would be a benchmark club this year, but says Merimbula could be a challenge too. 

“This is going to be a more even competition than the last several years,” he said. 

Nicol said the Bombers liked playing at home, but would not be fazed by travelling to Merimbula for the game. 

“There is a significant difference in the ground ... but I don’t think it will be a problem for us.

 “We’ve had a good pre-season and they’re a young side.

“From everything I’ve seen in scratch they’ll run the match out.

 “We fancy ourselves to be a more competitive club,” he said. 

Unfortunately for the Bombers, some key members have been injured in the pre-season. 

“The core group will be down a couple of members, which might give Fleety a headache,” Nicol said. 

However, he said the early matches will be anyone’s game until clubs settle in. 

“It will take two full rounds for the competition to settle down and then we’ll see where people are,” he said. 

An impromptu match at training provided the club with a chance to test new players’ skills.

“We got a chance to see some of the new fellas in action,” Nicol said. 

The paperwork was approved on Wednesday for one of the club’s Melbourne recruits. 

Nicol said the split rounds could cause a headache for clubs. 

“I don’t know how other clubs are, but I’m certain some might rely on 16s to play up in to the development grade.

“It’s not going to affect us, but it is a feature of this competition,” he said. 

However, the split round is drawing a lot on the Bombers’ volunteer ranks. 

“That’s going to stretch our volunteer resources.”