Greater Northern Tigers enter a tough semi-final against South Coast Dragons at Wollongong's Collegians Sporting Complex on a high but without naming a starting fullback.
The Darryl Rando-coached Tigers tackle the Dragons with a query over who will play number one in the semi.
Rando will make that decision at Saturday's training session at Belmore Sports Ground after the Canterbury Bulldogs NRL have a captain's run.
"We haven't made a decision yet, we will make it on Saturday after the Bulldogs captain run," Darryl Rando told Group 4 Media.
"We'll train and then head down to Wollongong, it's only an hour and a half away."
He said apart from injured Cooper Meldrum (broken ankle) the "team is fit and healthy".
"It's a big game for all the boys," he said.
"They (South Coast) are the favourites but if we play like we did against Western Division we can win. "We started well against the Rams, got off the line well (in defence) and played aggressively in defence as well.
"We also played quick so if we do the same thing again we can win.
"We know we are up against the favourites, they have a couple of big boys but we have dealt with big boys all season. And we have improved just about every week, have improved our last three games."
The Tigers have been handed the toughest trip in the SLE Country Championships and have a long trek to Wollongong.
Rando thought the NSWRL could have been fairer to his side and slotted them to play at Wyong with the three other Under 16 and Under 18 semi-finals.
Newcastle Maitland Knights play Monaro Colts
The Newcastle Maitland Knights play Monaro Colts in their Laurie Daley Cup Under 18 Semi-Final at Morry Breen Oval, Wyong on Saturday.
The Knights and Colts also play an Under 16 Andrew Johns Cup semi-final at the same venue with the Macarthur Wests Tigers-Central Coast Roosters U16 semi also played at the same venue.
"Instead they make us drive past that ground and go to Wollongong.
"Some of our boys already travel big distances, the kids from Glen Innes, Inverell and Guyra travel four hours just to get to Scone or training. It's been a lot of travel for us leading into the Country Championships. I feel sorry for the kids to have had to travel so much and then have another big trip."
He is hoping to use the travel issue as a positive in the build-up to the Laurie Daley Cup semi.
GREATER NORTHERN TIGER UNDER 18'S
Team to Play South Coast Dragons at Collegians Sporting Complex, Wollongong, 10am Sunday.
GREATER NORTHERN TIGER UNDER 18's: 1 To Be Named, 2 Keandre Johnson-
Vale (Armidale), 3 Jackson Smith (Scone), 4 Kaleb Hope (Glen Innes), 5 Oscar Atkin (Guyra), 6 Jordan Hamlin (Farrer), 7 Callum Dowell vc (Scone), 8 Lachlan Bonnell (Dungowan), 9 Jack Foley (Scone), 10 Zane Groves (Scone), 11 Dylan Keane (Scone), 12 Logan Spinks capt (Farrer), 13 Braydon Allan (Dungowan), 14 Talon Harrington (Scone), Gabriel Stafa (Singleton), 16 Brady Roser (Scone), 17 Nate Follington (Farrer), 18 Brodi Campbell (Guyra), 19 John O'Leary-Doyle (Dungowan), 24 Cooper Meldrum (Singleton). Coach - Darryl Rando (Scone), support staff - Brad Field, Dave Brown, Wayne Hedley, Chris Bryant.
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