Bathurst Bulldogs set for Blowes Cup first grade grand final at home against Orange Emus

Bathurst Bulldogs' Blowes Cup first grade side are one more win away from making that a reality when they chase another grand final victory over old foes Orange Emus at Ashwood Park this Saturday.

The two clubs played out a classic last year in a 15-13 result that went the Bulldogs' way, giving them their second title in the space of four years, and there's certain to be little between them once again in the 2023 edition.

Bulldogs are looking to become the first back-to-back premiers in the top grade since Emus in 2015 and 2016 - an achievement that would be made all the more sweet by doing so against the last team to do it.

"We are trying to create our own benchmark and we have to be able to put back-to-back years together to be able to achieve that," first grade co-coach Dean Oxley said.

"We've achieved our first couple of goals, which was to earn a home semi-final and the home grand final, but people only remember who wins the grand final. Our season will be quickly forgotten if we don't complete that task.

"Emus played very well against Cowra in the preliminary final and dominated that game in the end, so we're expecting a very hard encounter, but thankfully we have our home ground and our home crowd."

If Emus' comeback 29-27 win over the Bulldogs last month wasn't a big enough indication of how dangerous they can be then the more recent major semi-final certainly would be.

Even though Bulldogs got the job done 24-10 in that game they had to fight from a three-point deficit at half-time, eventually breaking through an Emus defence that refused to back down.

"Emus were successful in pressuring us and we have focused heavily on being able to manage the pressure of the situation and what the opposition are offering in trying to stop us from playing rugby," Oxley said.

"Emus did a good job at nullifying a lot of what we do in that first half. It was disappointing having to talk at half-time about being down after enjoying so much possession but Emus defended very well.

"We've learned a lot from that semi and now we get a chance to see how far we've come."

Bulldogs' favourite brand of rugby is no secret to any of their rivals.

They love using the full width of the field as often as possible and keeping a high pace of play, yet despite this being the common game plan for the Bulldogs it's still difficult for teams to come up with solutions to stop it.

"The confidence in our capacity to score points is very real," Oxley said.

"It's been the way we've played footy all year, and fortunately it's looking like it'll be a sunny day, and we'll look to play our style of football as often as we can, while being fully aware that Emus will try and do the opposite.

"They've got a strong lineout and their rolling maul turned up against Cowra on the weekend. It's going to be a cracking game and I'm really looking forward to it."

Oxley said he's thankful to have such a talented squad, with equally impressive depth, at the ready for the game.

"I've heard it - and I don't see it as a criticism but an observation - that this is a very easy team to coach because of the standard of this team," he said.

"The key is getting them all to play together and for each other. A bunch of strong individuals doesn't make a team.

"If we can be successful on Saturday we're then starting to establish something that's never happened before. We'll be setting up to be - and it's a word I want to use sparingly - what Orange Emus and even Orange City have done over the years, and that's to be dominant over a number of years."

The first grade grand final rounds out the day's action at 3.15pm.