Dubbo CYMS coach Shawn Townsend plays down Peter McDonald Premiership favouritism

CYMS lost five-eighth Alex Bonham to a hamstring injury in the warm-up on Sunday and weren't at their best at Parkes but still managed to score a 24-18 win over the Spacemen after another two-try effort from Jeremy Thurston.

The Fishies have only lost once this season - that defeat to Orange Hawks coming all the way back in round one - and their 12^th straight win on the weekend ensured they will finish top of the Group 11 pool this season.

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CYMS has a better overall record than Group 10 pool leaders Mudgee as well and their form this season has many tipping them as the team to beat in the inaugural western-wide competition.

"I'm not really worried what other people think," Townsend said.

"We've got a goal we want to achieve by the end of the year and we haven't got there yet.

"Between now and the end of the year there's about seven weeks so there's a lot of footy to come yet.

"We're starting to get some healthy bodies back. Having Tommy (Hughes) back this week was handy and I thought we might have been full strength but then Bono (Bonham) went down."

Bonham's hamstring complaint - originally suffered at training on Friday night - is one of a number of niggling injuries CYMS have suffered this season, with the likes of Jarryn Powyer, Jyie Chapman and Ali Beale all having stints on the sideline at different times.

It's a similar story across the other top four sides in the Group 11 pool this season.

The Macquarie Raiders were without influential playmaker Josh Merritt again during Saturday's win over a Forbes side which had to deal with injuries to stars Jake Grace and Mitch Andrews at Apex Oval.

Parkes went into Sunday's clash with CYMS without suspended forwards Will Wardle and Tikoko Noke while backs Joey Dwyer and Jim Dabea exited the match through injury in the first half and captain-coach Jack Creith, someone who has already spent time out this year, suffered a nasty dislocated thumb.

A number of Group 10 stars have also been struck by injuries this season, with Orange CYMS captain-coach and former NRL premiership winner Daniel Mortimer missing much of the first half of the season while his St Pat's counterpart Zac Merritt has also spent time on the treatment table.

The Cowra Magpies have been one of the worst hit this season, with an injury crisis forcing the club to hold an emergency meeting last week to decide whether they could go on or not in 2022.

"These blokes will finish in the top four and they're not too far away," Townsend said of Parkes after Sunday's match.

"Forbes is good side, Macquarie has come good and then on the other side Mudgee looks like they're flying.

"I think Mortimer is the best player in the comp so Orange CYMS won't be too far away. He's probably the best player in the comp and they're probably the best-coached team in the comp. (Bathurst) Panthers will be thereabouts too so it's all wide open.

"It will all come down to who's healthy. If Mortimer goes down or if (Mudgee's Jack) Littlejohn or their front-rower (Clay Priest) get injured and it's the same for us. If Jarryn (Powyer) or Jeremy (Thurston) were to go down we come back to the field a bit.

"We just want to put ourselves in a good position to challenge for them so that's the goal."

Dubbo travels to play the injury-ravaged Cowra next weekend while a meeting with Wellington and a derby battle with Macquarie rounds out the regular season.