RSL-Colts has been all-but assured of a finals spot for the best part of three months, but that hasn't affected the way the men in red have played at all.
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In fact, it's what the club expected.
After missing the finals last season, Colts has been back towards its best this season and heads into the final round of the RSL-Whitney Cup season with an outside chance of claiming the minor premiership.
That's been the case for much of the summer, with the current top three of Newtown, Colts, and CYMS sitting well clear of the chasing pack.
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Despite a top three spot being basically locked up before Christmas, Colts stalwart Jason Ryan said it didn't influence the way his side performed in the last few rounds.
"I wouldn't say so. We expect it from our blokes," he said of playing at the top level.
"It's what we do. We play finals. It's more been about teaching our young fellas what we expect and making sure they learn from their mistakes so they're firing at this time of the season.
If Colts is to pinch top spot it needs to score a massive win over Macquarie while relying on ladder-leading Newtown being beaten by third-placed CYMS.
"We've succumbed to the fact we'll be playing the semi but hopefully CYMS knock them (Newtown) off and we can do something at our end," Ryan said.
"But a spot in the semis is sewn up so there's no real pressure. We'll have an idea of how things stand on Saturday night and that will decide how we play the next Saturday."
Colts heads into the match with the in-form Blues having lost just once since the turn of the year.
The men in red produced one of their best performances of the season last time out, overcoming a poor start to score a convincing 68-run win over fellow premiership contender CYMS.
Chris Morton smashed a vital century in that game while leading teenage all-rounder Tom Atlee again delivered with the ball.
"We've got a lot of blokes playing good cricket," Ryan said.
"That was Morto's first century in a long time and Tommy Atlee is really at the top of his game.
"We want finals as soon as possible the way he's playing and I know the rest of our top order is ready to go."
While Macquarie is no chance of playing finals, the clash at No. 1 Oval will still be a good test for Colts.
The Blues have been playing their best cricket of the season in recent weeks and piled on a massive 352 against South Dubbo last round.
"They're probably one of the form sides at the moment and I was only saying to (teammate) Wes (Giddings) last week it's good to have them in the last round.
"It will be a hard game before we either go into a semi-final or grand final and there's no pressure. If we play good cricket and get beat then it's been a good contest.
"It's just going to be good to play tough cricket."
Newtown and CYMS do battle No. 2 Oval in the final round while the other match sees the winless South Dubbo meet Rugby at No. 3 Oval.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
