Dubbo Rhinos to face CSU Bathurst and Mudgee in testing away games

After just a handful of wins in recent years, the Rhinos have only lost once in seven rounds so far this season and sit second on the ladder approaching the halfway point of the campaign.

That standing creates pressure and coach Doug Sandry is all too aware dealing with that will be decisive.

"We're no longer the hunter, we're the ones being hunted," he said.

"We've had good results and we're scoring points but our discipline still needs to repair itself.

"We've got to work hard to get that fixed before we can really consider ourselves a contender.

"That's our big issue right now."

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The next two weeks will give a real indication of the Rhinos' standing in the New Holland Cup.

On Saturday the side heads to Bathurst for a clash with an improving CSU and a trip to Mudgee to take on the first-placed Wombats will follow that.

Making the challenge all that more difficult this weekend will be the absence of Kaiden Hill and Lachie O'Malley, who will miss the CSU match through suspension and injury respectively.

Both have been key for the Rhinos this season, with Hill directing the side around frim scrumhalf while O'Malley's performances in the forwards earned him a spot in the Central West colts side that claimed the Rowlands Cup at last weekend's country championships.

O'Malley was joined by Rhinos teammates Nick Barton, Dasun Samarakoon, Gideon Loga, Loni Langi and Darcy Richardson in the Baby Bulls squad that went through the championships unbeaten.

"It's fantastic," Sandry said of having the club represented at the top level.

"It's great for them and it gives them confidence. When they went away they weren't sure what to expect and whether they expected to win, I don't know, but they've been training hard since January.

"All of them played their part in that win and hopefully (NSW) Country selection comes around for a few of them."

O'Malley is expected to be the only Central West representative to miss Saturday's match while captain Matt Graham is closing in on a return after suffering a knee injury in a win over Mudgee on May 1.

Sandry hadn't decided on the makeup of his halves for the CSU match, but one option was shifting Api Lomani from the 10 to the nine and moving Nash Forgione to flyhalf.

In regards to the clash with the students, it's something of an unknown given the CSU side has changed plenty since the Rhinos beat them 40-0 back in round one.

New recruits have boosted the Bathurst side while they've played some of their best rugby at home, with a win over Parkes and three-point loss to Mudgee proof of that.

"It's going to be a tough couple of weeks on the road but we're looking forward to it because if you're going to win, you've got to win everywhere," Sandry said.

"If we're going to be a fair dinkum challenger for the premiership this year then we need to win on the road.

"We snuck one on the road at Narromine and got away with one there but the next two weeks are going to be really, really tough."

Kick-off at University Oval on Saturday is at 3.15pm.

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