Talking points from the latest round of Central West Rugby Union

In the Blowes Cup the battle for the minor premiership is still very much alive between the Bathurst Bulldogs and Cowra Eagles and it's the same case when it comes to fourth spot.

Just three points separate the Dubbo Kangaroos (fourth) from the Forbes Platypi (five), so it's a tight battle there.

So how will those last two weeks unfold? Maybe this week's edition of Tuesday Tight Five will give you a clue.

WHEN the Cowra Eagles beat the Bulldogs at Ashwood Park in round three it stung co-coach Dean Oxley, as it was the first time he lost on that turf as Bathurst's first XV coach.

When the Cowra Eagles beat the Bulldogs in Cowra in round eight it stung Oxley to see the way his side was pushed around by its opponent's physical brand of rugby.

So what did Oxley do? He, fellow co-coach Chris Plunkett and their squad all worked hard.

It paid off as on Saturday Bulldogs beat Cowra 24-15 to move to the top of the table. Bathurst's front row muscled up and led the way.

"To get that win, it's incredibly valuable because Cowra have bullied us. I had a conversation with a couple of the Cowra boys up in Cowra when they beat us and they said 'The young boys are doing okay, the young boys are getting better'. We were better today," a smiling Oxley said after Saturday's triumph.

"We needed to believe we could match them in terms of physicality. They are aggressive, physical, they play within in the rules but they intimidate with their shoulders and we had to give it back to them."

As happy as Oxley was with the win, with two rounds to go before finals it's not time to ease off. The hard work must go on.

"Champion teams don't just turn up, you've got to do the work, it's a long road. That win, it's nothing aside of the possibility of winning the minor premiership if we can win the next two," Oxley said.

"It's there for us to have and hopefully we can come back to Anne Ashwood and get the job done in the major semi if we get there."

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HOW often would you see three sets of brothers take to the field in the same team?

For Orange City, it's been that way for the past two weeks.

While Duncan Young packs down the scrum for the Lions, his brother Barton skates down the wing.

Then you've got the scrumhalf and flyhalf combination of Tom and Harry West.

But we're not done yet.

Noa and Aden Fraser round out the brotherly connection at Orange City with Noa at flanker and Aden on the wing.

In City's 19-12 loss to Forbes on Saturday, Duncan Young and Harry West were undoubtedly two of their best.

Young continued to fight hard and look for opportunities, scoring his side's first try with a quick tap, while West scored the other, beating a defender and running down the left touchline.

Both Young and West haven't been consistently in the first grade side due to injury and lack of form, but they justified their spots on Saturday.

And when Young is done whacking Pride Park mud out of his boots, he puts them on again to captain-coach Cargo Heelers in Woodbridge Cup the next day and he's done it consistently all season.

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LAST season the Eagles flew under the radar, this season the Eagles have been the hunted, but that's just fine with coach Colin Kilby.

He knows what his squad is capable of as it has only lost twice since being declared premiers last season.

But in that latest loss to Bathurst Bulldogs, one which saw Cowra slip from first to second, Kilby felt his Eagles didn't show their best.

That game highlighted that the Eagles can't cruise if they wish to soar to a premiership again in 2022.

"You like to win all the time, you never like to lose, but that loss doesn't hurt either, it's a bit of a wake up call that we're not just going to cruise through and there's some hard work to be done at this end of the season," the coach said.

"Everyone is now looking at the prize at the end, so we have to get back next week, bring back the enthusiasm and fine tune a couple of things.

"I think other sides aim up more against us now, we probably flew under the radar a little bit last year and came through unexpectedly. But sides are aiming up against us now, they know they've got a big game coming and we're going to bring it."

Cowra will no doubt bring it at home this Saturday against the Dubbo Kangaroos then will be on the road to face Orange Emus the week before finals.

Time to sharpen those talons.

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THE battle for the last remaining spot in the Blowes Cup finals is well and truly on.

Bathurst Bulldogs and Cowra Eagles are a lock in the top two, while Orange Emus sewed up third on Saturday with a win over the Dubbo Kangaroos.

That leaves one more spot and there's two contenders for it.

The Roos currently sit in fourth, but the Forbes Platypi are hot on their heels just three points behind.

That's not all which has set up an intriguing final fortnight of the regular season.

This Saturday Dubbo heads to Cowra to face the defending premiers before returning home to host Forbes in the final round of the season.

It is the Roos-Forbes match which is looking like it will decide who joins Emus in the minor semi-final.

The Roos defence has leaked more than 100 points in their last two matches and will come under fire from a Cowra side who will no doubt be determined after a loss to Bathurst.

While the Roos got within three points of the Eagles in Dubbo earlier this season, Cowra prevailed 34-7 when they last met at the Eagles' nest.

As for Forbes, it hosts competition frontrunners Bathurst this Saturday. Beating the Bulldogs will be no easy task but something the Playtpi are intent on doing to climb back into the four.

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TWO of Orange City's big signings over the off-season won't appear in their final rounds this season as a result of injury and homesickness.

Mark Burton and Nathan Ah Kee, two City recruits from New Zealand, both added some much-needed punch to the first grade side this year.

However, Burton has now decided to return home while Ah Kee is injured.

Burton, who was on the radar for Central West selection, was one of City's best backs for the year, while Ah Kee provided a lot of strength in their scrum.

Injury hasn't stopped Ah Kee from being the great clubman he is though with the prop, along with Darcy Holmes and Craig Buckley, all dressing up and representing the club for a drag queen night.

The 'having the blues can be a real drag' event raised $30,000 for Beyond Blue.

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