Defending premiers and newly-installed competition leaders Narrabri make the trip across to Tamworth to tackle Pirates.

The Blue Boars claimed top spot with their 26-17 win over Moree last week.

The Bulls will be looking to bounce back from that when they host top tier newcomers Tamworth.

Gunnedah have the bye as do Quirindi in Tier 2 where Walcha is at home to Inverell and Scone journey to Barraba.

It was a near run thing for the Rams – both Rams sides in fact.

They finished just a point off the five.

Barraba were pretty well resigned to the fact they were going to miss out before last week’s final round, needing too much to go right for them.

And while disappointed, coach Nick Bomford said the focus among the group is as strong as it was.

“Our focus hasn’t dropped off,” Bomford said.

“You’ve got to turn around and have your goals.”

“The top tier would have been nice.

“But you’re still playing for a shield at the end of the year.”

And it’s not going to be easy in the second tier.

“It’s going to be tough enough with teams like Walcha,” Bomford said.

The fifth-placed side from the top tier at the end of the regular season will also drop down to compete for the Tier 2 premiership.

The Brumbies haven’t been travelling that well, but the Rams won’t be taking them lightly.

“We’ve got a tough game in front of us,” Bomford said.

“We got a few injuries out of the Quirindi game.”

Inside centre and prop Will Robinson are both in doubt with “crook” shoulders.

They’ll be big losses.

Mellor is a real general there in the midfield while Robinson adds stability up front.

The message from Bomford has been about keeping to their structure and keeping to their game plan.

They showed what they are capable of when they do that against Pirates the other week.

“We played a great game against Pirates and we’ve spoken about that,” Bomford said.

“If we play that same brand of football and the same intensity we’ll be very hard to beat.”

Especially at home. That will be a big advantage for them.