Tim Dukes was cleared at the judiciary on Thursday night, having to front for a dangerous throw that originally had captain Hayden Bolam seemingly in hot water when it occurred.

Dukes' clearance, plus a few minutes in the legs for Mitch Burke last weekend, gives the defending premiers reason to be confident before the daunting trip to Nyngan.

Burke suffered a fracture to his leg midway through the regular season and returned to the bench in last weekend's elimination semi-final win over Parkes.

With the result all but certain in the final 10 minutes, coach Cameron Greenhalgh threw the Western Rams representative into the action and he immediately looked at home back in the halves and barking orders to his teammates.

His return boosts a Magpies side which has been directed around well in recent weeks by teenage halves Thomas Toohey and Kurt Mylecharane.

"Everyone is training well, feeling fit and healthy," Greenhalgh said ahead of Sunday's game.

"We're concentrating week to week on who we play, our game plans change.

"Nyngan at Nyngan is tough. They're a very solid side and it's do-or-die footy.

"It's going to be intense."

Forbes heads into the match following arguably their best performance of the year, while the Tigers enter Sunday's match at home after just their fifth loss of the year last weekend.

The Tigers were beaten by Wellington in last weekend's qualifying semi-final, despite shooting out to a 10-0 lead inside the first five minutes of the game.

The attacking flair of Justin Carney's men was clear to see but post-game the player-coach stated his side needs to be more composed when it is in a winning position.

The likes of Josh and Jai Merritt and Darryl Cubby provide huge amounts of entertainment for Tigers fans and Carney doesn't want to half his players' natural flair, but he knows at finals time things need to be kept tight.

"Settling is a big thing. When we get out in front it's about how to play conservatively but not go into our shells completely," he said.

The Magpies and Tigers have met twice previously this season and the results have been split.

Back in round one a new-look Tigers announced themselves when downing the defending premiers 20-10 away from home, before the Magpies scored a commanding 42-28 win over a Carney-less Nyngan side midway through the year.

Plenty has changed for both teams since that round eight meeting, with Carney returning and shifting to the centres while the Magpies, unsurprisingly, went to another gear as the finals began.

Kick-off is 3pm, Sunday.