For Newtown captain Mat Skinner, the biggest thing for his side in Saturday's RSL-Whitney Cup meeting with CYMS is simple.
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The two sides have met on five occasions this season and CYMS have won all but one.
In the one Newtown win, Lee Price and Trent Smith combined in a match-winning 68-run stand that remains the highest partnership the Tigers have put together this season against a powerful CYMS bowling attack led by quicks Bailey Edmunds, Ben Knaggs, and Ben O'Donnell.
"CYMS have killed us with the new ball nearly every time," Skinner said.
"Buzz (Edmunds), Knaggsy, and Benny 'O' have gutted us with the new ball so it's up to the top order to stick their hand up and knuckle down.
"We've got a lot of batting and depth so if we can get through that first 10 overs or to drinks only one or two down it really sets the platform.
"But every time we've been four, five, or six down coming into drinks and it's hard to come back from there."
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CYMS reduced Newtown to 4/63 early in the first meeting this season while in the past two games between the sides the Tigers have been reduced to 4/38 and then 4/34 before ultimately being knocked over for 82.
Price is one Newtown batsmen who has made runs against CYMS - scoring 65 during the Tigers' win in November - and will be key in the top order again alongside the likes of Dan Holland, Steve Skinner, and Mitch Russo.
The Tigers head into the match having finished the regular season in second, one spot behind CYMS.
But there was one point early in the season when it appeared Skinner and his men seemed out of the finals race already.
Newtown only won once in the opening six rounds but a bonus point victory over Rugby soon got the ball rolling and the win over CYMS came the following week.
"It's always easy to get disheartened, especially early in the season, when you lose a couple you should have won," Skinner said, looking back.
"But the boys stuck at it and grinded out a few wins."
The captain admitted at times he thought his side was facing an uphill battle to make the top three, as RSL-Colts was always well clear of the pack, CYMS was the defending premiers, and Macquarie's lineup on paper was loaded with big names.
"I thought Macquarie and Colts would kick on out in front and we'd be in a dogfight with CYMS for third," Skinner said.
"But as it turned out Macquarie couldn't get their best team on the field consistently and I think that was the biggest thing.
"Us and CYMS, we've had blokes available for most of the season."
While that may be the case, Newtown will be without Trent Smith and Guarav Sharma on Saturday.
While the pair have been key for the team this summer, they have been in and out of the 11 at different times due to work commitments so their absence isn't as much of a blow as it could have been.
"They boys aren't too disheartened," Skinner said.
"It would be better if they were playing but everyone knows how to get the job done without them."
Play starts at No. 1 Oval at 1pm on Saturday.
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