THIS round of the Whitney Cup sees a top versus bottom clash in a weekend where all cricketers in Dubbo are expected to wear black armbands and observe a minute's silence after the tragic passing of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on Thursday.
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The number 408, Hughes' baggy green number, will also be painted on the outfield on grounds around town as Newtown look to keep their unbeaten record intact.
The competition reverts back to two-day matches after last weekend's one-dayers and the Tigers meet Macquarie No. 2 Oval.
Newtown are streaking away at the top of the ladder and currently lead the competition by more than 20 points while the Blues sit last, but only trail South Dubbo by less than a point.
Mat Skinner will again be the main danger today with both bat and ball while the Tigers have real depth this season with the likes of Steve Skinner, Dan Holland, Nick Cushan, Wayne Dunlop and Dan French meaning the side has almost every base covered.
The Blues will need to produce their best performance of the season if they are to get anything from the match and leap above Souths, who meet RSL-Colts at Lady Cutler 2.
The clash between Souths and Colts will be severely affected by player unavailability today with both sides affected by key players on Western Zone representative duty.
Colts will be without Tim Cox and Chris Morton while the Hornets will be without their captain and key all-rounder Tim Berry.
Souths' Scott Tucker led the way with the ball last week, taking four wickets as Souths impressively kept Rugby to 200 but they fell short with the bat.
The likes of Asher Robins, Will Wolter and Adam Wells will all be keen to build a big score in this game.
In the final round five match an understrength Rugby meet a CYMS side striving for consistency.
Rugby will be without Western Zone trio Jordan Moran, Mitch Bower and Ben Patterson while the Cougars will be without leg-spinning all-rounder Ryan Medley.
Rugby won a tight match against Souths last round while CYMS fell away at key times and were defeated by Newtown.
The defending premiers still have plenty of talent left despite the key omissions, with Ben Taylor, Nathan Munro and Blake Watmore all producing impressive efforts in the early stages of 2014-15.