Dubbo CYMS is starting to "up the ante" as they look for further improvement ahead of the Western under 21s competition finals.
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The young Fishies impressed again on Saturday and ran out convincing 50-6 winners over Woodbridge at Forbes.
It made it two wins and a draw from the opening three rounds for the Paul Yeo-coached outfit and has them in a share of top spot with Bathurst St Pat's.
A trip away for an all-CYMS battle in Orange is next-up for the side before a bumper final round derby meeting with Macquarie and Yeo knows the performances there will indicate whether his side is the real deal or not.
"We've been training for about five weeks now and we're starting to up the ante and get to the level we need to play finals," Yeo said.
"The boys know it's a big game this weekend but they're also thinking about the one after, there's no doubt about that.
"Macquarie has improved out of sight."
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Yeo has been a keen observer of many matches in the pre-season competition so far and has seen rival sides progress across the first three rounds.
He's been keen to drum that into his players as he works to add more to CYMS' game with each passing week.
"From the first week it's been about improving step by step and adding a little to the attack each week," he said.
"The weekend was a good opportunity to try something and add something and it seemed to work well."
While the Woodbridge side was gallant for the full 60 minutes they were no match for CYMS.
Yeo also had the chance to rotate players around and give them opportunities in new positions, though some of that was out of necessity as a number of niggling injuries build up in the squad.
Kyle Welsh was one of those who got the chance to play bigger minutes on Saturday and impressed in the front-row while Yeo also singled out fullback Calub Cook, five-eighth Jack Smith, centre Kyjuan Crawford, and back-rower Karl Uele for praise.
"Calub Cook has impressed week-to-week and he was really good again," the coach said.
"He did a lot of good things in attack and defence and he's just become more consistent and resilient."
The forward pack has been particularly banged up and after seeing "a fair bit of ice around the sheds" on the weekend to help with the injuries Yeo is expecting a number of players to miss the trip to Orange.
The Orange CYMS side was beaten by Forbes on Saturday and remains without a win but the final results haven't mattered to Yeo as he's liked what he's seen from the green and golds.
"They (Orange CYMS) had two in the bin at once (against Forbes) and missed a big opportunity in the first half," he said.
"We're probably heading there next weekend as underdogs.
"I played there for two years and I know they're a strong club with a big fanbase and I've said to the boys we'll go there after a good win but I don't think we'll be favourites there.
"That should motivate them a bit but I really think that's the case. They have a class side."
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