NARRABRI Blues are lying in wait for unbeaten reigning premiers North Tamworth.
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The Brenton Cochrane captain-coached Blues found some of their best form of the season when they beat Werris Creek 40-22 on July 7.
That was their last game as they had a bye in Round 10 and then last weekend was a general bye for the National Primary Games.
Brenton Cochrane scored five tries in that game to take his season's tally to 12, equal with injured Bears star Josh Schmiedel and centre teammate Andrew Moodie.
He missed out on any Best and Fairest Award points as he was sin-binned late in that game.
The win and the subsequent bye took Narrabri to 12 points, equal third with Werris Creek but ahead on for and against.
They are just one point behind second-placed Kootingal (13).
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So they have everything to play for, something Bears captain-coach Scott Blanch knows only too well after his side escaped with a lucky two-point win at the "Collins Park Graveyard" last year.
"We were very lucky to get a win," Scott Blanch recalled.
"They could have scored a couple of late tries. It was a pretty gutsy effort from us to keep them out. So we are prepared for that again. We'll be fresh coming off the bye but so will they."
He said there is just one change to the Bears side with centre Andrew Moodie unavailable for family commitments.
"Yorkie (Jeremy York) comes back into the side into the centres," Blanch said.
"Andrew has been great for us this season, playing well below his age but it's going to be tough out there, always is."
NARRABRI v NORTH TAMWORTH
Collins Park, Narrabri - First grade kickoff 2.30pm - Referee James Brown.
NARRABRI: (Unofficial) 1 Josh Trindall, 2 Brady Jenkins, 3 Toby Bentley, 4 Holt Cubis, 5 James Smith, 6 Isaiah Adams, 7 Justin Knight, 8 Luke Hetherington, 9 Brenton Cochrane (c/c), 10 Daniel Jobson, 11 Travis Small, 12 Jess O'Neil, 13 Tristan Lamb, 14 Raymond Goodwin, 15 Kalab McMillan, 16 David Toomey, 17 Adam Suckling.
NORTH TAMWORTH: 1 Mitch Sheridan, 2 Zac Nigro, 3 Richard Clegg, 4 Jeremy York, 5 Luke Fisher, 6 Scott Blanch (c/c), 7 Kieran Fisher, 8 Alec Cocking, 9 Richard Ingram, 10 Shane Wadwell, 11 James Cooper, 12 Jake McManus, 13 Nic Dobson, 14 Chris Hunt, 15 Brock Wadwell, 16 Jack Patterson, 17 Ben Jarvis.
