They will, but will likely have to rope in some reinforcements.

"It's the same stuff we were struggling with last year," he said.

He said they are probably about even with where they were last year in terms of personnel.

One boon is the availability of club stalwart Brad Rees. He was limited to only a couple of games last season due to a back injury but is set to be on deck for the season, although Bishop intends to use him in a slightly different role.

"He used to play up the back," he said.

"We're going to play him up front and let him rip."

Bishop was encouraged by their performance with only 12 players at the pre-season Crossroads Cup.

They lost all three of the games but were competitive.

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"But the bottom line is you can't win a flag unless you've got 30 blokes committed to training and playing," he said.

"Our best dozen are as good as the best dozen in the competition. It's a matter of finding the utility players and link players to help out."

"We've got some good young players coming through but we don't want to put too much pressure on them."

He highlighted consistency as an area they will be looking to improve this season.

"We were in a lot of games for patches during last season but didn't really put a full game together. That will be our focus this season," he said.

They didn't encounter the victorious Bulldogs at the Crossroads Cup but are expecting them to be strong, Bishop noting that if they are to have any chance on Saturday, they need to limit the impact of Jacob Spackman.

"If we find a way negating him a little bit we'll be in the game for a bit," he said.

"But if he gets off the leash we'll be in trouble."

In the other opening round games, Inverell host Moree while the Tamworth Swans head west to Narrabri.