The Christmas break traditionally marks the halfway point for the RSL Whitney Cup competition and there has been a lot to talk about in the opening two months of play this season.
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Team by team we will go through how each team has fared so far, who has stood out, how their second half of the season could look and give them a rating from one to 10.
Macquarie - 8.5/10
It's tough not to give the current ladder leaders a higher score but their big loss to the CYMS Cougars before Christmas would've no doubt stung the men in blue.
That being said, the Ricky Medway-led side has been brilliant to start the season.
Off-season additions Blake Smith and Lachlan Strachan have both contributed almost every week to the sides performance while Jason Green has been strong when playing.
Macquarie has seemingly unearthed a star bowling option with Will Skinner picking up wickets for fun in the opening few rounds of the season all while barely going for any runs.
The only negative for Macquarie before Christmas is they've played CYMS twice and lost both matches while they are yet to face RSL Colts.
That being said you can only play who is in front of you which is exactly what Macquarie has done.
CYMS Cougars - 8/10
Coming into the season, CYMS arguably had the most potential of any team in the competition after Ben Patterson and Brock Larance returned to town but it's only recently the Cougars have started to fire.
The first half of the season for the Cougars was a strong one with just two losses to their name to date, the first coming against RSL Colts in round one while the second against Newtown albeit without five representative players.
Patterson has now seemingly found his groove in green after hitting a 100 and taking five wickets in the match before the break and could be set for a big second half of the year.
CYMS' batting line-up has only fired once this season but with the likes of Larance, Tom Coady and Tom Nelson there is a lot to be excited about for Cougars fans.
Newtown - 7.5/10
If you've said Newtown would be sitting above RSL Colts at the Christmas break to me before the season I would've thought you had gone mad.
Mitch Russo's Tigers have been strong to start the season and have conceded the least amount runs of any team in the competition.
Newtown's usual offenders Mat and Steve Skinner along with Dan French have all been great to open the season.
Throw in newcomers Theme Rewat and Will Palmer then you have to take the Tigers seriously.
Newtown has lost just the two matches this season both of which came against the two teams who sit above them on the ladder (Macquarie and CYMS) while the defeated RSL Colts in a nail-biter just before Christmas.
RSL Colts - 7/10
It is quite rare to see the powerhouse RSL Colts side not in the top three on the ladder at Christmas time but it can be put down to their last three performances.
RSL Colts dropped three consecutive matches against CYMS, Rugby and Newtown leading into the break which has them in fourth on the ladder and only above Rugby on points percentage.
Chris Morton and Marty Jeffrey have arguably been the two best batsmen of the competition this season so far while opener Charlie Kempston will be hoping he can find some runs as soon as he can.
Post-Christmas RSL Colts will likely be at full strength for most of their matches and will be out to prove they are still the best side in the competition when they face Macquarie on January 15.
Dubbo Rugby - 7.5/10
Darcy Chewings, remember that name because if the youngster continues his early-season form then you may be reading it quite a bit in 2022.
Chewings has been the biggest surprise of the 2021/22 RSL Whitney Cup season on the back of hitting 253 runs at an average of 63.25 at the top of the order for Rugby.
Chewings' opening partner Ben Wheeler has been no slouch so far this season with over 200 runs to his name and the two are only getting better.
Rugby has scored more runs than any team in the competition but has also conceded the most with their bowling unit yet to fire.
South Dubbo Hornets - 6.5/10
This season was always going to be about looking towards the future for Souths and giving their young players more RSL Whitney Cup experience.
Youngster Lachlan Rummans is quickly emerging into an all-rounder with a very big future constantly being one of the Hornets' best with bat and/or ball each week.
Greg Rummans and Adam Wells have been solid without making a huge score.
Word going around town is that former Randwick-Petersham opening batsman Matthew Everett will have a few games for the Hornets after Christmas so don't be surprised if Souths picked up their first of the season within January.