Group 4: Roosters and Blues to clash at Rugby Park on Sunday

The Blues will arrive in Tamworth for the round four encounter unbeaten and leading the competition for the first time in a number of years.

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They will also play at Rugby Park, the home of the Tamworth Magpies.

Normally the Blues would have played at Kootingal Oval, a not so familiar ground to them anyway, but the Roosters cannot play at home on Sunday because the Manilla Dog Show is being staged there.

Roosters club president Clarence "Lad" Jones said: "It's a clash of dates. That's why we need the draw done early in the year."

Kootingal Oval is a community venue and run by a community group.

With the Oval unavailable, the Magpies came to the rescue.

Kootingal-Moonbi will go into the match after their first loss of the season, a 32-8 spanking by Moree at Moree last Saturday.

They were missing a heap of players for that clash.

Roosters hooker Kurt Hartmann missed the Boars match and may be unavailable again after injuring a hamstring at the oztag state championships in Coffs Harbour last weekend.

"It's going to be a big day," Jones said of Sunday's matches.

"They (Narrabri) are leading the comp, they are unbeaten too. It's going to be a different day playing at Rugby Park."

Narrabri captain-coach Jake Rumsby is looking forward to the clash, regardless of where it is played.

"It's exciting," he said of his side's rise to the top of the table.

"We've got a massive two weeks too. Kootingal and then Dungowan away as well.

"Kootingal will give us a gauge of where we are at too. Hopefully we will be fit, the boys have a few niggles."

Rumsby believes his mobile Blues "are on the way up".

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