ORANGE CYMS will on Sunday celebrate its 1954 Clayton Cup-winning Group 10 premiership side when the green and golds face the Mudgee Dragons at Wade Park.
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Awarded to the most successful first grade side in the Country Rugby League for that year, the Clayton Cup is one of the most revered pieces of silverware on offer in bush sport and CYMS’ 1954 team is just one of three Group 10 sides to win the prestigious Cup in 77 years.
And, to be fair, with a record of seven wins from 14 games this season, Mick Sullivan’s men won’t be good enough to join the elite company currently etched on the Clayton Cup’s silver.
But the three-time premiership-winning coach doesn’t need them to be, either.
He just needs the current crop of CYMS to show a touch more “urgency”.
WATCH OUR VIDEO PREVIEW OF GROUP 10'S ROUND 17:
“If you’re ever going to get your spark back it’s in a do-or-die format,” Sullivan said, aiming to get CYMS in semi-finals mode two weeks out from the official start of the Group 10 finals on August 23.
“Really, complacency and maybe being half confident in games where we should get the job done, that all goes out the window.
“We’ll just have to start our run a bit earlier this year after our poor form mid year.”
CYMS will get their best chance to make a statement in the 2014 premiership race when they face a Jack Afamasaga-less and Corin Smith-less Dragons outfit.
The pair have been arguably the two best players in Group 10, let alone in Mudgee, and the duo’s absence will be felt by the Dragons.
Still, Sullivan wasn’t prepared to write off a side that earlier this year won 10-straight games.
“It’s definitely a massive loss for them, but in saying that you don’t get there on the back of one of two players. It’s still a team effort and they’ve still got the nucleus of that team there,” he said.
Sullivan believes this year’s competition is the closest he’s seen since joining CYMS in 2010.
“By far, it’s a very open season,” he added.
“Any other time I could have pin pointed one or two others who could win the premiership, whereas this year, especially with ourselves coming fifth, and I always back ourselves to be a huge hope, anyone in the top five can win it.”
Kick-off on Sunday is at 2.15pm.
ORANGE CYMS: 1 Ben McAlpine, 2 Ryan Griffin, 3 Tim Bassmann, 4 Matt Penny, 5 Jarrod Robbins, 6 Ryan Prevett, 7 Mick Sullivan, 8 Des Knight, 9 Sam Hill, 10 Zac Bohan, 11 Riley Law, 12 Kyran Bubb, 13 Ben Gosper.