When the Bears confront Narrabri at Jack Woolaston Oval in round six on Sunday, their main motivation will be the memory of the Blues’ 32-28 defeat of them in round one.

The Bears have not lost since then, while Narrabri lost for the first time this season in a 42-22 away defeat to Gunnedah on Sunday.

McManus described Saturday’s 88-4 win over South West as “pretty good”.

“We’re building in a few things heading into next week,” he said.

“We’re just looking forward to playing Narrabri.”

McManus said “definitely” when asked if the match was about revenge.

He also said “definitely” when asked if we was excited about the game. “They got us up there, so hopefully we can return the favour at home,” he said.

“They’re a good side but we’ve had four weeks to work on a few things (since they last played). Hopefully with it being a home game, the boys will come out and be ready to go for it.”

Gunnedah’s win over Narrabri announced them as a serious premiership contender, with them joining North Tamworth and Narrabri in that club.

But there are also three other teams in the competition.

McManus said he tried to get his players to approach the softer matches as if they were playing Narrabri.

Meanwhile, Collegian beat Wee Waa 42-38 on Sunday to record win No.1 for the year.