Blayney co-coach Alex Pettit is preparing to lead his side into unknown territory in week one of the Western Premiership's reserve grade final series.
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For the first time the club will be playing their first final match not against a Group 10 side, but against Group 11 outfit Dubbo CYMS.
And they'll have to get to Dubbo by 10.30am on Sunday morning to do so.
Pettit said he was confident that the Bears will be able to adapt to the new format, and pointed out that Dubbo was in the same situation, just without the travelling.
"It'll be just as hard for them to adapt as it will be for us," he said. "We're all in the same boat."
Under the Peter McDonald Premiership the location of all the finals games are based on the first grade results, with every other club following in their footsteps.
Pettit is confident that with a full complement of players to draw on, this Sunday's quarter final will highlight his players versatility.
"I don't really know too much about Dubbo," he said, "Other than they finished on top of the ladder."
His wealth of experience though does give him some insight as to how the Fishies will play.
... we'll be able to adjust quite easily and play the way that we want to play.
- Bears skipper Alex Pettit
"Normally Group 11 teams tend to play a lot faster and attacking sort of footy, so I reckon that they'll throw a fair bit at us out wide," he said.
"We're the kind of team though that can play through the middle if we need to or we can play out wide. Either or suits us, we'll be able to adjust quite easily and play the way that we want to play."
The big hope is that when they win on Sunday the gap of one week before the preliminary final on September 3 will allow them time to recover, train and make their way into the grand final on September 10.
On his side is the good news that all his players are fighting fit, the Bear's slump came in the middle of the year.
"Overall it's been a good year," Pettit said. "We started really well and we had our run of injuries for a few weeks during the middle of the season, but over the last few weeks we've been getting a few players back and we're playing some good footy again."
On Sunday the Bears ended the season with a 40-4 win over Lithgow, securing them second place on the ladder. Cowra topped the table by one win.
"We were a bit clunky at times on Sunday and Lithgow really threw a lot at us, but in the end we got there, but it took a bit."
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Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
