Things are heating up in the Western Youth League's northern pool.
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With just three rounds remaining there is a fierce three-way battle for top spot.
Macquarie is now in first position on the ladder but they sit just one point ahead of Wellington following the Cowboys' loss to CYMS.
CYMS is just one point further back in third after the nailbiting win at Apex Oval.
The top two sides automatically go through to finals while the whichever of the third-placed sides from the northern and southern pools has the best record will also advance to the final eight alongside three teams from the eastern pool.
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It appears at this stage all three northern pool teams will be moving through but there's still a huge amount to play for.
The results and tight nature of the northern pool also means there's even more to play for in the upcoming Dubbo derby battle between Macquarie and CYMS at Apex next Sunday.
"They're a very sharp side," Raiders coach Jim Kelly said of the Fishies, having beat them earlier in the season.
"They were under strength last time we played so they're going to come out all guns blazing to show us what they can do with a full team."
Elsewhere in the league, Forbes and Bathurst St Pat's remain in control of their respective pools.
Forbes is still unbeaten and near-certain to claim top spot in the southern pool after scoring a 38-6 win over Cowra in the weekend's battle of the Magpies.
Parkes cemented its hold on second by downing Canowindra in the other match in that pool.
In the eastern group, there were two derbies played out with St Pat's beating Bathurst Panthers while CYMS beat Hawks in Orange.
MAAS GROUP WESTERN YOUTH LEAGUE
Northern Pool
Round 5
DUBBO CYMS 32 (Will Malloy 2, Zac Williams, Harrison Freeman, Braye Porter, Noah Ryan tries; Ryan 4 goals) defeated WELLINGTON COWBOYS 28 (Cooper Taylor 2, Keenan South-Hill, David West, Seaun Stanley tries; Rylee Blackhall 4 goals)
MACQUARIE RAIDERS 26 (Nic Tighe, Aston Warwick, Jye Day, Brandon Hamilton, Liam Deaves tries; Blake Merritt 2, Nathan Walker goals) defeated MUDGEE DRAGONS 6
Ladder
Position Team Played Won Drawn Lost Bye +/- Points
1 MACQUARIE 5 3 1 1 0 42 7
2 WELLINGTON 5 3 1 1 0 36 7
3 CYMS 5 3 0 2 0 30 6
4 MUDGEE 5 1 0 3 0 -56 2
Southern Pool
Round 5
FORBES MAGPIES 38 defeated COWRA MAGPIES 6
PARKES SPACEMEN 28 defeated CANOWINDRA TIGERS 6
Ladder
Position Team Played Won Drawn Lost Bye +/- Points
1 FORBES 5 5 0 0 0 118 10
2 PARKES 5 2 1 2 0 24 5
3 COWRA 5 1 1 3 0 -62 3
4 CANOWINDRA 5 0 0 5 0 -132 0
Eastern Pool
Round 7
BATHURST ST PAT'S 34 (Tyler Colley 2, Jack O'Neill, Noah Cooney, Josh Belfanti, Cooper Akroyd tries; Colley 5 conversions) defeated BATHURST PANTHERS 16 (Haydon Taylor 2, Evan Cafe tries; Charlie Hutchings 2 conversions)
ORANGE CYMS 26 (Jesse Buchan 2, Rohan Bouffler, Cody Kelso, Will Tink tries; Addison Williams 3 goals) def ORANGE HAWKS 10 (Ben Blimka, Mitch Watts tries; Ben Blimka goal)
LITHGOW WORKIES: Bye
Ladder
Position Team Played Won Drawn Lost Bye +/- Points
1 ST PAT'S 5 5 0 0 2 109 14
2 CYMS 6 4 0 2 1 50 10
3 HAWKS 6 3 0 3 1 -60 8
4 LITHGOW 5 1 0 4 2 -8 6
5 PANTHERS 6 1 0 5 1 -91 4