Townsend feels 2019 premiers Wellington are currently the frontrunners and the fact the Cowboys only just edged past Parkes last round is why he expects such a test on Sunday.

CYMS travels to Pioneer Oval this weekend to take on a Parkes side which had scored impressive wins over Macquarie and Forbes before last Sunday's 26-20 defeat to Wellington.

Those results have Townsend expecting a much closer result than the 40-10 win CYMS recorded over the Spacemen in round one.

"I think they're well coached. I think he (Brent Wood) does a really good job and they've got some good players," Townsend said.

"They'll be good and they only went down by six to Wellington last week and we think Wellington is the side to beat so they weren't too far off them."

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Townsend said it's his personal opinion Wellington is the one to watch, given they won the 2019 title and have welcomed back former Group 11 captain-coach Justin Toomey-White this year.

"They've been there and done it so there's the bit of trust there and the bit of belief. They won it last time without the best player in the comp and he's back now," he added.

It was difficult for all Group 11 sides to build momentum during the first half of the season as a number of byes and plenty of washed out training sessions affecting continuity and cohesion.

CYMS hasn't played in back-to-back weekends since early May but the Parkes game is the second in five successive matches for Townsend and his troops.

The Fishies are coming off a tough 12-11 derby win over Macquarie last weekend while they meet Wellington, Forbes, and Narromine after the Spacemen.

"We haven't had any continuity and it's been bit frustrating," Townsend said.

"The next month should set us up. We haven't been where we want to be but we're slowly getting there."

The biggest positive for CYMS is they've still been winning without playing their absolute best footy up to this point.

It's been somewhat surprising for Townsend as he expected his side to begin the 2021 campaign slowly after CYMS had one of the more relaxed pre-season programs.

"But we've started well. But in second half of the season teams will be battle-hardened and it will even itself out a bit," he said.

"Teams will start playing better footy and, in the end, it could come down to injuries. If a key player goes down it could change a team so you'e got to stay fit and healthy."

In terms of his own team's current health, Ben Marlin and Brad Pickering will miss the Parkes game.

Marlin could face three weeks out after a head knock last weekend while Pickering is out with a knee complaint.

Mark Merritt will be promoted to start in the front-row in place of Marlin while Jack Smith will shift from lock to partner Alex Bonham in the halves.

"It's pretty hard to replace that experience," Townsend said of Marlin.

"He's a great leader but Mark Merritt has been good all year. He's a good size, has got good feet, and he's a good fella so he walks straight in."

Kick-off in Sunday's match is 2.30pm.

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