Parkes captain-coach Jack Creith is wary of the threat posed by former Spacemen Alex Prout in this weekend's Peter McDonald Premiership crossover clash.
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The Spacemen will make the trip to Orange on Saturday to take on a Hawks side captained by Prout.
Prout spent five years with Parkes and was captain-coach at the club in 2018 before making the move to Hawks the following season.
"Prouty is pretty handy at hooker and he knows a bit of the Parkes stuff," Creith said.
Creith admitted it's difficult to know exactly what to expect from Hawks in the round 12 battle.
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The Orange side has endured an up-and-down campaign up to this point. Hawks remain the only team in the competition to have defeated Dubbo CYMS but that was just one of four wins recorded this season and they head into Sunday's match having lost each of their last three games.
Hawks are currently fifth in the Group 10 pool and outside the finals places while Parkes will make the trip to Orange having moved into second spot in the Group 11 pool after winning each of its last six games.
"They've won a couple they probably weren't expected to win and they've probably lost a couple they shouldn't have so I think it will be a tough game," Creith said.
One thing working in Hawks' favour this weekend is star Fijian recruits Waqasaqa Qiolevu and Marika Turagaiviu are getting settled at the club after arriving in Orange last month and playing each of the past two games.
The pair are exciting additions, having both been a part of the Fiji Bati squad that played Papua New Guinea in the recent Pacific Test.
Also part of the original Fiji Bati squad was Parkes prop Tikoko Noke.
Noke has quickly made his presence felt at Parkes and has already chalked up a number of monster hits in recent weeks.
There's a strong Fijian presence at the Spacemen and the defence of Noke as well as the battle between centre Jim Dabea and the likes of Qiolevu and Turagaiviu is set to be a real highlight at Wade Park on Sunday.
Creith will also be one to watch as he makes his return after a stint on the sideline with a broken socket.
The injury came in the first match of the current six-game winning streak and after admitting he wasn't sure how he would fit into an in-form lineup, the captain-coach has named himself at fullback.
Early in the season Creith had played at five-eighth but he's opted not to break-up the red-hot pairing of Chad Porter and Joey Dwyer in his return.
Porter has been in some of the best form of his career this season while Dwyer had slotted in seamlessly at five-eighth.
Dwyer's brother, Sam, has also starred at hooker since returning from injury in the past month.
Creith's move to fullback, somewhere he has played previously for Parkes, means Jacob Smede shifts to the wing.
Former NSW Country player Will Wardle has also returned to full fitness and he is back in the second-row to give Parkes arguably their strongest lineup of the season.
Sunday's match will be part of a testing period for the Spacemen late in the regular season.
Matches with CYMS sides from both Dubbo and Orange follow the meeting with Hawks before another massive derby clash with rivals Forbes in the penultimate round.
"There's some tough road trips but we'll work out if we've got the mettle to go on and go deep into finals," Creith said.
Sunday's match is scheduled to kick-off at 2pm.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
