Mounties sit four competition points clear at the top of the table, while Wentworthville, Asquith, Blacktown and Windsor are all in reaching distance of top spot.
There is a four-point gap between fifth and sixth position, meaning the stronger teams are slowly separating themselves from the pack.
Two of these heavyweights will collide on Saturday, with the Wentworthville Magpies hosting the Blacktown Workers at H.E. Laybutt Sporting Complex.
The Magpies are sitting in second spot with a game up their sleeve, but their coach Chris Yates is very wary of a strong Blacktown outfit, and pinpoints what they have to do to win.
“Blacktown are going great at the moment,” said Yates. “They’ve had four [wins] in a row and scored 74 against Kingsgrove. They’re coming off the bye, so they’ll be full of confidence.
“We’ve just got to compete [in] every play. We’ll just be trying to do the little things you need to do to win the game, nothing needs to change too much.”
These two sides met in round two, in which the Magpies came out 22-6 winners, and Yates says he will take a lot out of that game into this weekend.
“That was my most pleasing game of the year,” said Yates. “[Blacktown] threw everything at us, and we got beaten 7-0 in the second half penalties, but defensively we shut them out.
“If you turn up to play, do the little things and compete, you’ll deserve to win games.”
Meanwhile, last placed Kingsgrove will face the test of playing competition front-runners Mounties this week. Last time they played, Mounties crushed Kingsgrove 72-12, who will be out to avenge that embarrassing defeat.
Storey Park will see third placed Asquith Magpies take on Cabramatta Two Blues. Asquith need a win to keep up with their fellow top-four sides, whilst Cabramatta won’t drop too far if they lose, but will need a win to stay in touch with the top four.
Guildford Owls will host Windsor Wolves at McCredie Park in an important game for both sides, as they are both lingering mid table, but are safe from dropping out of the top eight.
Finally, Western Suburbs – who are full of confidence as they are coming off a win against Wentworthville, will take on Concord-Burwood at Goddard Park. These two teams both sit in the bottom three, and simply cannot afford another loss.
