DUBBO Kangaroos captain Shaun McHugh won't make the trip to Bathurst on Saturday but he has no doubts there will still be enough leadership within the Roos camp.
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McHugh and barnstorming centre Filisione Pauta are both out this weekend for Dubbo's clash with CSU, a side who have only won twice this season.
The match is a crucial one for the sixth-placed Roos with the chance to potentially end up in fourth spot by the weekend's end.
The two sides above Dubbo, Cowra and Mudgee, face Orange Emus and Bathurst Bulldogs respectively, seemingly far more difficult matches than the Roos clash at University Oval.
But while the lack of McHugh and Pauta certainly weakens the Roos, the skipper feels it won't affect his side's performance.
"Hopefully some of the young blokes can step up and have a crack but we've got the depth to handle it," he said.
"We've survived this season without guys like Josh Tremain and Dan Armitage and they're champions.
"But John Korff will captain this week and Benn Wright has captained his zone so there's plenty of experience and leadership there."
The last time the two sides met the Roos' powerful forward pack ran riot and led Dubbo to a commanding 60-5 victory.
McHugh said his side's gameplan would be simple on Saturday with the aim to repeat that performance.
"Of course we're confident and we played very well the last time and we had a dominant forward pack so we'll try to do that again," McHugh said.
"But it's going to be tough, especially there, it's always a good day and they get plenty of support on the hill and they'd love nothing more than to beat Dubbo.
"You can't give them a sniff because they're a good bunch of young footballers so the pressure is on us."
Replacing McHugh and Pauta could be fairly straightforward with Simon Hegarty returning from injury and expected to fill in the No. 8 role while James Gilmour can simply slot into the centres.
But their input will be hard to match with McHugh so often guiding the forward pack around while everyone in the Blowes Clothing Cup competition is aware of the sheer power and try-scoring ability Pauta possesses.
Following the clash with CSU is a home clash against Forbes and then two huge matches against Cowra and Mudgee which will go a long way to deciding the make up of the top five.
While the pressure is starting to build McHugh said his side can't let it get to them too much on Saturday.
"It's a good chance but we're not worrying too much about how the others are going, we know we've just got to keep going," he said.
"We know if we keep winning we'll make the finals."
Dubbo's clash with CSU Bathurst kicks off at 3.15pm at University Oval.
