Nigel Staniforth and the first-placed Orange Emus will look to complete a season sweep of the Bathurst Bulldogs when they run out at Wade Park for a Blowes Clothing Cup eliminator on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Staniforth and the Emus have been a model of consistency throughout 2020 as they finished the campaign with an eight-from-eight hit rate including a pair of wins over the Dogs.
Going into this year's finals series - which will only feature three games in total - Staniforth's well aware of the favourites tag the men in green have drawn but it's not something they haven't dealt with before.
"We haven't lost many games in the last five seasons," Staniforth said.
"There's obviously a bit of added pressure going into the finals undefeated but there's not really much you can do about it."
When you look at all of the professional sports dynasties in the last couple of decades, they all share the same thing - a core group of leaders who hold up the standard year after year.
The New England Patriots had Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and Bill Belichick.
The Sydney Roosters have James Tedesco, Boyd Cordner and Trent Robinson.
And since 2014, the Orange Emus have had Nigel Staniforth, Toom Goolagong, Sam McLean and Nick Hughes-Clapp - as well as a few others.
It's that consistency - paired with the ongoing help from fresh talent - that's allowed the men in green to uphold such a high standard every season.
"The nucleus of those guys has helped the club run really well," he said.
"We've got two really good coaches this season in Jeremy Wallace and Pete Bromley and they make it worthwhile to get down to training."
The tutelage of both Wallace and Bromley has been another driving force that's helped Emus work their way to one of their most impressive seasons this decade.
"It's just a really good mix," he said.
"Jeremy [Wallace] focuses on the backs and Pete [Bromley] takes care of the forwards but they both give Charlie [Henley] and I plenty of freedom to do what we need to do as captains."
There won't be too much confusion as to the game-plan ahead of the do-or-die finals against Bulldogs as Staniforth - along with the rest of the roster - knows exactly what the game will bring.
"Their scrum is probably the most competitive left in the competition - Forbes' is good too," he said.
Pete Bromley's boys will kick things off at 3.15pm from Wade Park and with a victory, will host next weekend's grand final against the winner of the Dubbo Kangaroos-Orange City match that will be played on Sunday.