RSL-Colts play Rugby in the second last round of the Dubbo RSL Whitney Cup this afternoon and next Saturday.
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Colts captain Wes Giddings and his Rugby counterpart Warren Saunders both agree the outcome of this match will have a huge bearing on who will take the third and final place in the semi-finals with Newtown and South Dubbo all but assured of their spots.
Colts and Rugby have met twice this season in one-day games with both teams recording a win.
In November Colts chased down a competitive 236 with two overs to spare, then in the last game before Christmas Colts were bowled out for 166 chasing 197.
Finally they meet in a two-day match at No 2 Oval that will determine who will play in the 2004 Whitney Cup semi-final.
Central to Rugby's batting line-up is opener Wayne Dunlop.
Dunlop has 501 runs for the season and is second on the Whitney Cup batting aggregate behind South Dubbo's John Colwell (621).
"Obviously we want to get him early because once he's set he can stay around for the entire innings," Giddings said.
"But they have some good bats in Brad Stapleton and the Munros as well. We're going to have to keep working through them all day."
Saunders found some much-needed touch with 56 against Newtown last week and he's back bowling at top speed.
"I eased into the season," he admitted.
"I didn't bowl in the first five rounds because I had a hamstring injury from the rugby season which needed some time to recover."
Saunders' bowling will be crucial as they attempt to dismantle one of the best batting line-ups in the competition. He has taken 18 wickets to be the fifth highest wicket-taker this season.
First and second on that list will face off this weekend when Giddings and 14-year-old Ryan Medley oppose each other.
Both have 23 wickets from their spinners with Giddings slightly ahead on bowling averages.
Rugby's Craig McGrath and Adam Richards will need to take early wickets with the new ball to rid Colts of Jason and Matt Ryan at the top while Ben Day is in form and Giddings is still beaming after his first century of the summer two rounds ago.
Saunders and James Glenday are both dangerous pace bowlers while they can call on Medley and Wayne Munro with their spinners.
"We have enough bowlers but it's a matter of getting it right," Saunders admitted.
"I think we've been a little inconsistent with our length over the past few weeks. It's pretty hard to set a field when blokes are bowling different lengths. We need to start bowling a consistent length and on the one side of the stumps.
"No 2 doesn't offer much turn for the spinners," Saunders continued.
"But it's the biggest of the three grounds and it's got the slowest out field so you can defend a bit better with the spinners."