The Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws might be leading the race to the 2016 Central West AFL minor premiership, but if they wish to stay in first position they have a major hurdle to overcome this Saturday.

It comes in the form of clubmates Bushrangers Rebels.

Earlier this year in the first Bushrangers derby, the Rebels held the lead for much of the contest at George Park 2 before going down 14-12-96 to 11-6-72.

That defeat was one that hurt the Rebels, but they will carry another bit of motivation into Saturday’s rematch as well.

Last weekend Rebels went down by a point to second-placed Cowra in a bitterly disappointing defeat they will be keen to make amends for.

Those factors have Outlaws coach Brett Archer expecting a stern test for his men.

“The boys are bit disappointed they lost by one point, so they won’t hold back against us,” he said of the Rebels.

“I have said this before, we all take pride in the way we play football, so they’ll be out for a win, they’ll take it to us.

“We beat them last time, but they were in front most of the game too and we came away with a lucky goal in the last quarter. 

“Reviewing the film, it was basically just Peter Grundy stealing the ball in the middle of the field and just running 40-50 metres to get it forward which won us the game.”

With many of the Rebels and Outlaws having been on the same side last year when the competition ran both a first and reserve grade division, they are well aware of how each other play.

That makes it hard for coaches to spring surprise tactics, but Archer said it will also make for an entertaining contest.

“We know their strengths and weaknesses and they know ours pretty well, but that makes us both better football teams because you go out there and have to try that little bit extra, that little bit harder,” Archer said.

“We are not going to hold back, there is not going to be any elbows thrown or anything like that, but we’ll play hard.

“It puts a bit of pressure on Rebels in third if they lose because I know they want to finish in third. They have a little bit of breathing space, but Rebels have got to play us twice.”

Opening bounce at George Park 2 is at 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon.