IF you compare the respective women’s Premier League Hockey records of Bathurst City and Dubbo you could not get a greater contrast, with one racking up premierships and grand final appearances while the other has fought for survival.

But while Bathurst City have certainly had a much more profitable history, striker Kelsey Willott knows that will count for nothing when the two sides meet today.

In fact she believes Dubbo could be the big improvers this season.

Back in 2007 when Bathurst City tasted grand final glory, the Dubbo Ravens struggled to make an impact.

So tough did Dubbo do it, they withdrew from the competition at the end of the season.

It took until 2013 for Dubbo to return, this time as the Blue Jays. While they are yet to have the sort of consistency of Bathurst City, their young squad has steadily improved and Willott now sees them as a danger.

The Blue Jays began their latest season with a 2-0 win over Confederates and backed that up with a 2-all draw against St Pat’s last Saturday, while a round two bye means the 3-all draw with Lithgow Panthers is the only hockey City have seen thus far.

“We did train well after that game against Lithgow Panthers, but I would’ve much preferred to keep playing than have a bye. It feels very stop-start instead of being on a roll,” Willott said.

“To be honest I think Dubbo are the dark horses. They are always tough to play in Dubbo and with the crowd they have it makes things a bit tougher too.

“Their strength is certainly in their strikers, they have two good strikers and one inside forward who are very fast and very fit, they just run all day.

“So we are going to have to be very careful in defence against them.”

What will add to the degree of difficulty for Bathurst City is that they will have just one reserve on the bench today with eight members of their squad unavailable.

Young talents such as Danielle Fisher, Ivy Moore and Meg Booth will all miss the match, as will Jess Gardner, but City will retain its experienced core.

“We are going to be short on numbers, but we still have Maddy Tat [Tattersall] in goals, Red [Andrea Seymour] at the back, Kelly Baker in the middle and Lisa [Quinn] and myself up front, so we’ve got that core,” Willott said.

“We will only have one player on the bench though, so I am really hoping it’s not too hot. They are used to the heat over there, but we’re not.”

With Dubbo having nudged 36 degrees the past two days and tipped to be humid today, Willott is unlikely to get the comfortable playing conditions she is hoping for.

Still, there is no doubt she will rise to the challenges she is presented with as she looks to inspire her team-mates.

“I am the only one left who was with the side originally, well I missed the first season but I have been here ever since,” she said.

“I love that leadership role, its fantastic. I can remember when I first started and got helped by lots of older girls like Tanya [Lowe] and Katie [Lindsay] which was good and I know from them what to do. It is good to give back to the club.”

Today’s match in Dubbo is set to commence at 3.20pm.