Nine rounds later and the tide has completely turned.

The biggest shock probably came at Carrington Park where a red-hot Bathurst Panthers weren't just beaten by the Forbes Magpies but had a massive 40 points put on them in a 40-26 loss.

Macquarie accounted for Orange CYMS 32-24, Dubbo CYMS beat Mudgee 16-10 in the game of the round and Nyngan had a close 24-14 victory over Cowra.

Parkes were way too good for Lithgow in a 54-24 win while Bathurst St Pat's and Hawks played the only Group 10 fixture with the former winning 22-0.

So what have we learnt?

They were off to a slow start, but Dubbo CYMS are looking unbeatable now.

The round one loss to Orange Hawks is way behind them with both clubs going in the opposite direction since that fixture.

There's no doubting CYMS have the best list in the premiership - go through the team sheet and it's littered with talent.

Jeremy Thurston and Byrdon Ramien would be one of the best centre pairings in the competition. Jarryn Power and Ben Marlin the best front-row combination and Alex Bonham one of the better halves.

Riley Wake is one of the most talented youngsters going around and Billy Sing cannot be stopped on the edge.

The fact regular fullback Ali Beale was out for the Mudgee fixture means the side can get even better.

With its win on the weekend, CYMS are officially the top team in the competition but the finals format means the Group 11 ladder is all that matters and it's going to be close to impossible for any team to catch them now.

We might've just waxed lyrical about Dubbo CYMS, but its biggest test will come this weekend against Forbes Magpies.

A perfect tipping round might've been ruined for any punters on Saturday at Carrington Park with the Magpies win over Panthers.

You'd normally guarantee a Bathurst win every time at home but the Magpies came ready to play.

A team with Mitchell Andrews and Jake Grace can win any game and to take down the Panthers at home is a massive effort.

If the Magpies are to come away from Apex Oval with smiles on faces then Andrews will be the man that causes the upset.

We've continually talked up the Shane and Ben Walker type tactics of the Parkes Spacemen in this column and we'll do it again after they ran in 54 points against Lithgow on the weekend.

While Workies are probably faring the worst out of any side in the competition, Parkes left no room for complacency as Chad Porter, Sam and Joe Dwyer ran riot with five tries between them.

Considering captain-coach Jack Creith is still yet to return for the Spacies, there's a lot to like about what his team is offering.

Throw in their 34-14 win over Forbes in the derby, it'll be interesting to see where they go from here - for us they're the smokies.

It's a question Orange Hawks coach Shane Rodney will be asking himself over the next week and if he can figure it out then his side's problems are fixed.

Playing a well structured side in Bathurst St Pat's on Sunday, Hawks simply didn't have enough creativity in attack to ask any questions of a strong defensive team.

Compound that with a poor completion rate and it's no wonder they were kept to nil.

It's the simple basics that continue to let Hawks down, with one-on-one tackles consistently missed as Jackson Brien, Matthew Ranse and Lee McClintock made breaks for St Pat's.

The two blues haven't been helped by interruptions to its spine and if they can get everyone back by the end of the season, they might be able to cling to a finals spot.

On a positive, Ryan Manning was outstanding at the back under the high ball. The young fullback was consistently peppered with bombs and never looked like dropping one.

It's important to note though that early in the season, Hawks' goal was to be competitive with a massive change in roster.

You can't argue that's definitely been achieved.

Staying with Hawks and the key to creating more in attack may lie with two new inclusions.

Both Waqasawa Qiolevu and Marika Turagaiviu made their debuts for the two blues on Sunday with Qiolevu starting on the wing.

The two were apart of the Fiji Bati squad with Qiolevu 18^th man against Papua New Guinea.

The Fiji Sun interviewed Turagaiviu before he departed his country for Australia and revealed it was his first time on a plane.

While it was a disappointing outcome for Hawks, Qiolevu and Turagaiviu showed enough strength with their run metres to indicate there's plenty to work with.

Once they can get these two in space, watch out.

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