For the two sets of players who run at Apex Oval on Sunday there won't be many games bigger this season.
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A derby clash between CYMS and Macquarie in the Western Youth League is as good as it gets.
But for one CYMS player, there's another side in the competition he's got his eye on.
Fishies prop Charlie Holman is making a real impact in his first year with the Dubbo club, having made the move across after helping the Forbes Magpies win last year's Group 11 premiership.
Given the sides are in two different pools in the Western Youth League, CYMS and Forbes won't be able to meet until finals time this year.
And that's something Holman hopes will happen.
"It's sort of what I've been waiting for," he said of a reunion with Forbes.
Junior derbies between CYMS and Macquarie are always special, largely because so many of the players go to school together and bragging rights are on the line.
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But Holman still attends Red Bend Catholic College in Forbes, alongside a host of the Magpies' best young players.
It was employment opportunities that brought Holman across to Dubbo, he works in the city on Saturdays in the lead-up to taking an apprenticeship with Chill-Rite next year, but his school days are filled with footy banter from his Magpies rivals.
"There's heaps," Holman laughed.
"It's almost every day. They [Forbes] playing really good though."
Forbes is unbeaten and flying in the southern pool while CYMS currently sits third in an extremely even northern pool.
CYMS heads into Sunday's match one point behind Wellington while the Raiders are just a further point ahead at the top of the standings.
The Raiders claimed victory in the first derby meeting between the two sides earlier in the season but the Fishies were extremely under strength for that one.
With players back on deck they've started to show signs off their best, with a win at Mudgee followed by a blistering first half performance against Wellington last weekend.
CYMS led 26-6 at half-time in that game and while the Cowboys produced a spirited comeback in the second half the Dubbo side managed to hang on and claim a four-point win.
"I reckon as the competition has gone on we've got better," Western Rams prop Holman said.
"We're building slowly and just starting to work together a bit better.
"We've got a few young fellas who have come through and once they started to work out how it all goes it's started to click.
"I reckon we could push on for the top four but it's just about turning up at training and keep working hard to get a good result."
Being part of a new club is not unfamiliar for Holman.
He might still be a teenager but he's something of a journeyman, having started his footy career at his hometown of Bourke.
He spent four years in the under 14s age group, two of those in Bourke and two of those in Nyngan.
Last year I played against most of them so to come and play footy with them was a bit weird.
- Charlie Holman on joining CYMS
He spent a few years with Nyngan before the move to Red Bend and the Magpies, where he took his game to another level.
He's immediately become a key figure for CYMS as well and the hard-running and hard-hitting prop is loving his footy in Dubbo.
"The boys have been nice and accepting since I've come in and it's a great club to be at," he said.
"Last year I played against most of them so to come and play footy with them was a bit weird."
And while the CYMS-Macquarie derby might not be as ingrained into Holman's footy life as it is for some others who will play on Sunday, he knows it's a crucial fixture.
It appears the top three sides from the northern pool will be among the Western Youth League's top eight sides which head to the finals but given the quality in the southern and eastern pools, finishing with as many points as positive is vital.
"They're playing pretty good and I think it will be a close game," Holman said of the Raiders clash.
"We've got a few on the bench but I think it might come down to the last 10-15 minutes.
"Our first 10-15 minutes we try and set the platform and I think we've been going pretty well at doing that."
The derby kicks off at 12pm on Sunday at Apex Oval and it is followed by the other northern pool match between Wellington and Mudgee at 1.30pm.
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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.
