BLAYNEY will face its biggest test of the 2015 Group 10 season tomorrow at King George Oval when the injury-riddled Bears face off against fellow contenders Mudgee.

The maroon and whites will be without Nixons, Michael, Josh and Jesse, as well as Alex Pettit and Casey Wallace, while wily five-eighth Steve Lane isn’t 100 per cent leading into the blockbuster clash between the second and third-placed sides on this year’s competition ladder.

Captain-coach Dane Howarth - who, in a tremendous boost for the club, will return from injury for the round 12 fixture - says the Bears will know where they sit as a club after Sunday’s game against the perennially strong Dragons.

“We’re missing a few but our depth’s okay ... hopefully we don’t get any send offs this time,” he laughed, Howarth getting his marching orders in the Bears’ last clash with Mudgee at Glen Willow.

Mudgee got the win 28-18 in that clash at the end of April.

“We’re very keen to get one back on them,” Howarth continued.

“We’re obviously a few down but our experienced guys like myself, TC (Terawhiti Cooper), Will (Ingram), Leigh (Monaghan), Terry Brown, we have to step it up and improve on our starts.”