DUBBO CYMS have every right to be favourite tomorrow but a slow start in the grand final could cost them, according to Dubbo Macquarie coach Steve McLellan.
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McLellan and his Raiders side were knocked out of the running by Parkes two weeks ago and the Spacemen followed that up with a win over Wellington to book a spot against CYMS.
While Pat Rosser and his men were recording a win at Kennard Park, CYMS were enjoying a week off but McLellan thinks the extended break between games could cause the Fishies to start slowly tomorrow.
"In my opinion it all comes down to the start CYMS make, the reality is they've only played two matches in the past month so they could be a bit slow coming out of the blocks and if Parkes start well they might have the confidence to go on with it," he said.
"CYMS are the benchmark and have been all year but Parkes have come good at the right time. Against us the score was inflated a bit but maybe we weren't as bad as we first thought because they followed it up well against Wellington."
CYMS advanced to the grand final after a 30-10 win over Wellington but they were down 6-4 at half-time in that match and McLellan said the Fishies can't afford a first half effort similar to that.
The Raiders had been torn apart by injuries and player unavailability in the lead up to their match with Parkes and McLellan admits it was hard to gauge how strong the Spacemen were due to his side under performing.
"It was hard to get a read on it, we had six of our first graders out that day and we started pretty well so on the first 20 minutes from that game I can't see them beating CYMS but I really think it's going to come down to nothing more than the start."
