Group 11 2016: Dubbo CYMS face test against in-form Nyngan Tigers

Nick Guthrie - Daily Liberal

Dubbo CYMS centre Jyie Chapman has challenged the Nyngan Tigers to match his side at Larkin Oval on Saturday in what is shaping as the blockbuster clash of the Group 11 season.

Fit and firing: Alex Bonham has been battling a thumb injury but looks set to line up for CYMS on Saturday. Photo: BROOK KELLEHEAR-SMITH

Everyone who has stepped up against the two-time defending premiers this year has been emphatically swept aside but much is expected of the in-form Tigers, who are gunning for their sixth straight win.

The Fishies proved far too good for another contender, the Forbes Magpies, last weekend and Chapman said he is keen to see if the Tigers can go with his side.

“I’ve heard around town that they’ve got a big pack so a lot of people are saying we won’t be able to match them and we’ve got our work cut out,” Chapman said.

“But we’ve got fitness and speed and we’re a young team that can go the full 80 (minutes).

“They might be able to play for 30 minutes or 40 minutes but can they play for the full 80?”

Led by Western Rams representatives Jacob Neill and Reece Goldmsith, the Tigers showed their power last week when they brushed aside Westside 54-18, leading Chapman to say a win on Saturday would be his side’s best of the season.

The Fishies are undefeated and currently six points clear at the top of the ladder but are yet to face the Tigers, this weekend being a catch-up for the round seven washout.

“It would be of our biggest confidence boosters because we’ve played everyone else but to beat them (Nyngan) out there where they’re so strong would be a good confident boost for us for the rest of the season,” he said, before speaking about the always-raucous atmosphere at Larkin Oval.

“Their crowd is one of the best in Group 11 so it’s going to be hard for us over there with them in our ear but we’ll fix ourselves to that, we always do.”

Chapman confessed his side has spoken at training about the threat posed by Neill and Goldsmith.

Goldsmith has proved to be one of the signings of 2016 and his work from dummyhalf is more often than not the catalyst behind Tigers’ attacking raids.

Neill will expertly steer his side around the park and work off a forward pack that has been further boosted by some new arrivals in recent weeks.

While fully expecting his side to be tested, Chapman warned the Tigers his own side has been improving too, with last week’s 50-12 demolition of Forbes proof of that.

“We’re getting better each week and we’re still not quite there, personally, but we’ll get there, especially if we win on Saturday,” he said.

Chapman expects his side to be similar to recent weeks, with Alex Bonham set to play despite a thumb injury.

There will be no League Tag match on Saturday, with the day to begin with the under-18s at 11am.