Gunnedah has virtually been playing semi-finals for the last month, but on Saturday the real thing arrives.
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The Red Devils host defending premiers Pirates in a sudden death minor semi-final in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest days for the club in recent memory with second grade also suiting up against Gwydir.
In what has been a milestone achievement, all three Red Devils sides still have a chance of premiership glory with the women 7s side to face Narrabri in the major semi-final next weekend after finishing minor premiers.
There is a deserved sense of pride around the club. First grade skipper and former club captain Matt Roseby can't recall in his 12 years there having three grades in semi-finals.
"(And) The girls to be minor premiers, it's a massive effort on their behalf, especially where they started last year," Roseby said.
As for first grade, he said everyone is "really excited".
"All the boys were pumped at training last (Tuesday) night," he said.
"There is just a lift in intensity, which is obviously required at finals time."
Unlike their opponents, finals appearances have been sporadic for the Red Devils, making the chance to play in one all the more precious and something they don't want to waste.
Roseby has been fortunate to be involved in a couple and was there the last time they hosted Pirates in a minor semi-final, the Tamworth side proving too strong for them on that occasion.
"We don't want to repeat that," he said.
This season the two sides have shared the honours -the Red Devils getting the points in the first round and Pirates returning the favour in the second.
That result still rankles a bit with the Red Devils. It was one that they feel got away.
"Unfortunately we played 60 minutes of good football but we didn't finish the game off. You can't do that against a side like Pirates," Roseby said.
It did however serve as a bit of a tipping point.
They changed their mentality at training, knowing that they had to win every game, and came out and did, along the way knocking off Moree and Walcha, who were both at the time sitting on top of the table.
The self belief and confidence among the playing group has flourished along the way.
"(But) It's history now - it's anyone's game in the semi-finals," Roseby said.
The Red Devils know they have the blueprint for beating Pirates; it's just a question of whether they execute it for the 80 minutes. That has been their downfall, and what a lot will hinge on for them.
"We've played some good football but we haven't completed an 80 minute performance for several weeks," Roseby said.
"There's a big focus on finishing the game how we started."
It's no secret that the Red Devils' strength lies in their forwards or that that's where they will look to gain an edge.
"We're looking forward to the contest in the forwards and really taking it to the Pirates forward pack. Not just in the scrums and lineouts but up the middle," he said.
If they can dominate the middle third of the field and give the backline plenty of room to move, they've got some backs that can really capitalise on that.
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Unlike first grade who only confirmed their spot in the finals last weekend, second grade have been locked in for a few weeks and are coming in off a good win over Scone.
"It was good to get a big win against Scone and we've got a lot of players back that we've been missing the last few weeks," skipper Lincoln Stewart said.
"We're going to have a pretty handy side on the paddock."
They are similarly one-and-one with their opponents this season with Gwydir beating them convincingly two weeks ago.
Although Stewart did point out that they were missing a few players and didn't have any forwards subs , and consequently "ran our of legs in the second half".
In saying that their "defence wasn't good enough", and something they have really worked on, the Gwydir outside backs particularly causing them a lot of problems.
"We weren't numbering up and we were getting sucked into the ruck too much, which was leaving us short outwide," he said.
Ben Torrance is set to return up front while Joe Bridge, Scott Mitchell and Tom Mackey come back into the backline.
The action kicks-off at 11.25am with the under-19s. Second grade will take the field at 12.55pm followed by women's 7s at 2.35pm and first grade at 3pm.