DUBBO Macquarie captain Zac Rennick insists coming up against former Raiders teammate John Grey will not be a focus for his side tomorrow as Caltex Park plays host to the biggest local derby of the year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Macquarie and CYMS meet in what is shaping up as the game of the season. And while much has been made of former Macquarie captain-coach Grey's move from the blue to the green side of Dubbo, Rennick said his side was concentrating on getting the points to leapfrog the Fishies on the ladder.
"You can't just concentrate on one guy, we played together for years so we know his game but we've just got to play this as normal and go from there," he said, before speaking about the importance of the match.
"There's no bigger game than CYMS apart from finals so we're looking forward to it."
After walking out on the Raiders in May, Grey's presence in this match had added some spice to what should already be a bumper clash with the Group 11 leading Fishies coming off a 58-4 win over Westside last week while Macquarie were equally impressive as they eased past Cobar 52-12.
"We played some really good patches of footy but in saying that we know it will be a tough and physical game against CYMS," Rennick said.
"There were some positives and negatives from last week but that's like all matches and it's how you respond to that at training."
The hard-working back-rower said the Raiders enjoyed one of their best sessions on Thursday night with all but one player in attendance.
Rennick knows his side will have to produce one of their best performances of 2014 to get the win and he says every player will have to be on their game, with CYMS possessing match-winning players all across the park.
The battle between hookers Jeremy Smith and CYMS' Luke Jenkins will be one of the key parts of the match and Rennick believes their performances will go a long way to deciding the result.
"They can score from anywhere so we've got to shut them down," he said.
"Jenko (Jenkins) around the ruck, he lifts the tempo and gets them going if they're in a slow patch and they're forwards roll up the middle."
With only one point separating first and third this season as shaping as one of the most tight in recent times and the Raiders skipper said getting points at this time of year is vital.
"I've never seen a competition so close, a loss can get you three points behind and a win can get you to the lead," he said.
A huge crowd is expected to be in attendance at Caltex Park when the local derby kicks off at 2.30pm while the under-18s will begin the day's action at 11.30am.
