Although there's a sizable gap between them and the sides above Ex-Services remaining in the women's Premier League Hockey top four is a promising sign for the Orange club ahead of their clash with Bathurst City, a side that looks uncharacteristically vulnerable.
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After missing out on a grand final spot for the first time in half a decade last year Bathurst City's start to the 2019 has been one less-than-typical of the usually-powerful outfit, the 2017 champions winning just one of their first four games.
They sit fifth, one spot below Ex-Services, and with that comes a chance for the blue and golds to solidify their spot in the top four on Saturday afternoon and also take down a side they've not beaten since round 12 of 2016.
Easier said than done, of course, especially considering the Bathurst side is more motivated than ever after a sluggish opening month, City's lone victory coming over the cellar-dwelling Lithgow Zig Zag side in round three.
The round five match-up is part of Saturday's youth mental health awareness day, hosted by Orange Hockey Incorporate and headspace Orange, and Ex-Services' assistant coach Daryl Kennewell said a big factor will be his side's ability to maintain their structure.
"As long as we play our style and stay disciplined ... we'll be competitive," he said.
Ex-Services host Bathurst City at Orange Hockey Centre from 3.20pm, following Confederates' clash with Lithgow Zig Zag, from 1.55pm.
Confederates will go in search of their second victory of the season against the cellar-dwelling Zig Zag outfit, the only side that sits below them on the standings.
While Confederates have dropped three of their four games they've showed plenty of promise and will be the favourites against a side that's scored zero goals and conceded 21 so far this season.
Although there's no doubt Bathurst Souths pose a real challenge on face value most would consider Orange CYMS likely to extend their unbeaten start to the season, if they do they could claim the outright competition lead too.
Panthers also remain unbeaten through four rounds and the two sides share top spot as a result, but the Lithgow side faces fellow heavyweights Bathurst St Pat's in a blockbuster rematch of last year's decider this weekend.
The Saints won that 2018 decider, quite easily too in terms of the 5-2 scoreline, and considering they're sitting third just four points adrift of the leaders there's every chance they could once again take down the powerhouse Panthers.
Should that happen and CYMS beat the two blues as well, the Orange side would claim the outright competition lead through five weeks.
CYMS travel to Bathurst to face Souths, from 3.15pm.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
