CSU Bathurst won’t feature in this year’s Blowes Clothing Cup post-season, but skipper Cam Backhouse has seen enough to confidently predict which two teams will fight it out for the title come grand final day.
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Like many punters casting predictions, Backhouse can’t see any sides other than the current top two taking to the field on Saturday, September 17.
“I think (Orange) Emus and Forbes, they’re the two teams that will be there in the grand final, [they’re] just a step ahead of everyone else,” Backhouse said.
Combined, Emus and Forbes have dropped just three games through 16 rounds – the former one and the latter two – while the greens have scored a whopping 105 points more than the next best attacking side, fifth-placed Cowra.
“Forbes put 50 on us a few weeks ago … and full credit to Emus for what they did [in Saturday’s 55-point defeat of CSU]. They will both be really hard to beat.”
Should the Emus and Platypi battle it out in the decider, it will reignite a long-standing rivalry between the two clubs. They became finals nemeses in the early 2000s.
Emus coach Paul Ringland welcomed the possibility, but said his troops have plenty of improvement to make if they want to feature on grand final day.
That’s a somewhat ominous thought, considering the season they’ve had so far.
"Finals are a different beast, it is more about the basics, the physicality of the breakdown and the set piece. It is a bit more important in open field play,” Ringland said.
