A 26-17 loss to Blayney in round seven was followed by a long weekend bye and now the Pies will face Aggies before another weekend off in round nine.

Canowindra’s late withdrawal from the GrainCorp Cup effected the competition’s draw, with teams being forced to have the weekend off when scheduled to play the Pythons.

After having a bye in round four, Molong will sit on the sidelines next Saturday too which isn’t an ideal preparation for their transition to the northern division in the coming weeks.

Pies’ coach Graham Hobbs spoke about the need for a win this weekend given his side’s lack of playing time in the last month.

“It’s important for us to win a game,” Hobbs added.

“It’s been very stop and start. We had a bye last week for the long weekend and we’ve got one next weekend too because Canowindra pulled out”.

CSU Aggies has struggled throughout the season but Hobbs is expecting the students to be a lot harder to beat at Ron Gordon Oval.

“We can’t take them lightly. They’re always a lot stronger at home,” he said.

From July 8 onwards, Molong will join the likes of Geurie and Wellington in the northern division but won’t face a team that currently holds a better record than their own until the final round when they host the so-far unbeaten Narromine on August 12.

Molong’s record is four wins and two losses heading into this round.

Hobbs was optimistic about the switch of divisions, suggesting the Pies will “slot in nicely” when the time comes.

Molong will expect a strong start to their divisional switch with a couple of winnable games scheduled for rounds 11 and 12.

Wellington and Coolah will greet them first, with the two sides combining for a win-loss record of 1-9.

Saturday’s clash kicks off at 3.15pm.