In a sight rarely seen in the past decade of the RSL-Whitney Cup, the men in red sit second from bottom just one week out from the Christmas and New Years break.

One of the major reasons why the defending premiers have struggled this season is the fact there has been so much representative cricket this summer and a host of players have missed club games.

The likes of captain Greg Buckley, Darrell Williams, Wes Giddings, Jason Ryan, Tom Atlee and Ben Semmler have missed plenty of cricket due to Dubbo, Western Zone and/or Orana Outlaws commitments while Brad Cox is out injured, Paul Hulthen hasn’t always been available and Marty Jeffrey has recently departed to play grade cricket in Sydney.

On Saturday, the bulk of those players are expected to be back on deck for the one-day clash with the bottom-placed CYMS.

The last time these two sides met it resulted in Colts’ first win of the season.

The Cougars will be looking for a stronger all-round display on Saturday after Brock Larance was the only player who fired in last round’s loss to South Dubbo.

Captain Ben Knaggs has praised his side’s effort with the ball this season but will be keen to see his batsmen fire in Saturday’s crucial game.

A loss for the Cougars could end the side’s finals hopes the likes of Knaggs, Thomas Nelson, youngster Tom Coady and returning duo Ben O’Donnell and Tom Carruthers will be keen to spend some time in the middle.

O’Donnell’s return will be a boost for CYMS, due to his all-round ability, and it makes up for the loss of the injured Dave McAlister.

The clash at No. 2 Oval begins at 1pm.