So it should come as no surprise to the King George Oval faithful to hear the new Bears captain-coach is hoping to have the full support of Blayney on show come round one on Sunday.

The Bears tackle Mudgee at home, with league tag kicking off the day at 10am, and Mortimer’s banking on a groundswell of support from the club’s supporters.

“I’d love everyone to come out and get behind the boys. It’s shaping up well, we need a good start so we’ll be working hard to get that,” Mortimer said.

“Had a couple of trials and there’s been good signs coming out of that. We’ll have a big week of training and go from there.”

Coming to a new club, one that’s premier league side didn’t win a game throughout 2017, Mortimer’s focus has understandably been solely on the Bears this pre-season.

As a result, he knows little of Sunday’s opponent, the Ben Gregory-led Dragons.

Mudgee has been bolstered by the return of former NRL forward Jack Afamasaga and premiership winning players Tim Condon and Ben Thompson have linked with the Dragons.

But none of that’s worrying Mortimer.

“We’re just taking little steps to get where we need to be to have a good season overall,” Mortimer said.

“I just want the team to focus on the basics. Doing all the little things right, not giving up and effort. They’re the things I’m looking at.”

One thing Mortimer is sure about, though, is the quality of his frontrow.

The Bears welcome back Deryne McKenzie to the fold in 2018 while recruit Brady Cheshire is sure to add plenty of starch to the Blayney pack.

“They’ll lay a good platform. If they play well then we can work off the back of that,” Mortimer said.

Premier league kicks off at 1.40pm.