A quick look at the New Holland Agriculture Cup may lead someone to believe the Parkes Boars and CSU Bathurst are a level above the rest of the competition.
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But Dubbo Rhinos coach Doug Sandry firmly refutes that and believes the 2021 competition is one of the most competitive he's been a part of.
Parkes is undefeated at the top of the ladder while CSU's only defeat this season has come at the hands of the Boars.
The Rhinos are fourth on the ladder with just one win to their name but they have pushed the top two already this season and in both matches Sandry felt his side was superior, only for some late lapses to prove costly.
"I think this is the closest competition we've had in a very long time," the Rhinos coach said ahead of Saturday's trip to third-placed Mudgee.
"Any of the top four sides could win. Narromine is doing it a bit tough but they're going through a rebuilding phase and don't worry, they'll cause an upset before the end of the year and win some matches.
"But the other four sides are really close and it's a really competitive year. Not only in first grade, in second grade too.
"You just need to be on each week and if you're not on you're going to suffer the consequences of a loss."
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The Rhinos suffered a frustrating 39-19 loss to a Mudgee side led by its powerhouse forward pack in their first match of the season.
Despite having a man sent off, the Rhinos finished that match the stronger and scored the final two tries of the contest.
That trend has continued as Sandry's side has come home in strong fashion in the majority of its games through the first five rounds.
"It's a tough trip to Mudgee. They've got a really, really strong forward pack so we're probably going to have to juggle our pack a bit to compete with them," the coach said.
"I think if we can hold them in the first half, we've been finishing really strong and, honestly, we were probably the better side for 70 minutes against Parkes ... we know we can compete and that we've got the game plan to win games."
If the Rhinos' forward pack is able to match Mudgee for long periods, that will give halves Teahu Baker and Nash Forgione the chance to feed flying fullback Dale Smith.
Smith has been a standout early in the season, leading Sandry to label the youngster one of the very best players in the cup.
"We want to get Dale as much free room and quick ball as we can because he is the most devastating fullback in the competition," Sandry said.
"We've got to get the forwards to do the work in tight and then spin it and see what we can come up with."
Kick-off at Mudgee's Jubilee Oval is at 3.15pm on Saturday.
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