Rhinos co-captain Brett Austin has labelled his backs as the some of the best in recent times while the students have always possessed plenty of youth and speed out wide.

Both sides have one win from the opening two rounds of the New Holland Agriculture Cup and Austin is hopeful it’s his side’s backs, led by electric fullback Tyson Fuller, can lead his team to a second victory.

“With CSU you always expect the unexpected,” he said.

“They’ve got Jack Keppel and he’s a very good five-eighth and he’s the link to the backline. We’ve got to shut him down because that (backs) is where they’re strong and always have plenty of young, fit, and fast guys.

“But we’ve got the best backline we’ve had in awhile so this is our best chance to counter that.”

Fuller is only two games into his rugby career but starred in his side’s comeback win over Blayney last week and his form has been described as “red-hot” by Austin.

Gabe Chapman is set to make his first grade debut on the wing after producing an eye-catching performance out wide in second grade last week.

But one thing those exciting youngsters can’t do on their own is ensuring the Rhinos defence holds firm for the full 80 minutes.

In the opening two rounds the black and golds have been guilty of lapses which have allowed the opposition to capitalise.

Parkes shot out to an insurmountable lead in round one while last weekend only a stellar second half effort helped the Rhinos recover from a 24-7 deficit.

“We’ve just got to stop letting in so many tries and making it hard on ourselves,” Austin said.

“Last two games we’ve fallen asleep for 30 minutes and let in four or five tries. We have five or 10 really good minutes to start with then drop away.

“But we have been working on our defensive structure.”

Austin has overcome a knock suffered last week and will line up in the front row again at Apex Oval on Saturday but fellow prop James Dodd has been ruled out with a calf injury.

Fellow co-captain Cody Riley and Matt Neil are also carrying niggling injuries but are still a chance to take on the Mitchell Men.

“But we’ve got more depth and that’s where we’ve struggled in the past,” Austin said.

“Doddy and I went off last week and we didn’t really lose anything when we were replaced and that’s a good thing.”

With the quality out wide, depth of talent and competitive rugby guaranteed week-to-week in the second tier of Central West Rugby Union, Austin added “it’s a good time to be involved” with the club.

CSU heads to Dubbo after a last-gasp win over the Mudgee Wombats last weekend.

Kick-off Saturday is at 3.15pm.