The Ghosts got the points last time the two sides met and fairly emphatically.

“They outplayed us,” Robb coach Jim Boland acknowledged.

They go  into tomorrow on the back of a good win over student rivals St Albert’s and will take a lot from the way they dug deep to get the result.

“We really showed some application last week,” Boland said.

His talk heading in hasn’t strayed much from what it’s been pretty much all season.

It’s about maintaining possession and putting pressure on the opposition.

“It’s about taking the ball up with intent and putting intent in your defence,” Boland said.

“It’s what New Zealand calls winning the collision.”

That last game he noted they had one front-rower who really got in behind them.

“He gets over the advantage line and they get a roll-on from that,” Boland said.

“We need to meet them at the advantage line and sit them on their bum.”

And tackle in numbers. Not just one person, but in twos and threes.

“Defence is always a litmus test of where your head is at,” Boland said.

On that criteria their head was on the game last week. They defended really well, restricting Albies to just the one try.

The scrum was also enormous for them. 

Boland commented afterwards it was the best it’s been all season.

It’ll need to be as strong, if not stronger, tomorrow.

The Ghosts dominated there last time and won three or four tight heads.

What happens in the scrum can often flow through to other aspects, as was the case that day.

“If we can get an even share of the ball we can beat them,” Boland said.

They have already twice.

All the action will be in Armidale, with the students and Ghosts clashing at Bellevue Oval.

Across town at Alcatraz, UNE will host St Alberts in what will be a crucial game as far as the finals go.

They and the Ghosts are fighting it out for the other two spots.