BHS has one hand on the cup thanks to its heart-stopping opening tie success at home over Orange High School. 

Now Bathurst High makes the trip to face a Dubbo team determined to bounce back from its big loss to Orange last week.

The equation for Bathurst High is simple. A win over Dubbo lands it the Astley Cup but Orange will claim the cup if BHS goes down.

Dubbo’s only path to victory will be a nigh-impossible 575 to 225 win over Bathurst.

This Wednesday and Thursday’s tie sees the day-one program revert to the traditional lineup of tennis, netball, basketball and athletics.

Considering Bathurst beat Orange High in only one of those sports during their meeting (tennis), Wednesday will be a chance for several BHS teams to bounce back.

Bathurst’s tennis squad were dominant 9-3 winners over Orange High in the opening tie. 

The netball (38-31), basketball (48-38) and athletics (56-44) teams only suffered narrow losses to OHS, so they will consider themselves strong chances to give Dubbo a run for their money.

Bathurst High Schools sports organiser Josh Lawler and his crew aren’t making any predictions.

“Any conjecture over where we’re going to be on day one is futile. It’s never over until it’s over,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a really close and exciting couple of days. If you look at how the Orange and Dubbo tie played out I’m expecting this one to be really close.

“It honestly could come down to both schools winning four sports each.”

Dubbo went down 488-312 to Orange in their meeting last week.

It was a tough two days for Dubbo who claimed a win in just one of the events – A 44-26 success in the rugby league to finish the tie on a high note.

However, Bathurst will be well aware that Dubbo came close to wins across both soccer games (two draws).

Plus, Dubbo sports organiser Craig May has stated his team’s intention to “have a big say” in the competition

Lawler refuses to take anything away from the Orange-Dubbo tie, especially with DSC playing host this week.

“Most teams are stronger at home. When you’ve got the home support there you get a bit of energy,” he said.

“It’s not just our guys who lost against Orange but also the guys who won that are eager to try and come away with the points this week.

“The mood around the school is really great at the moment. We had an order for a couple of Astley Cup jumpers for our new team members and our staff are excited as well. The vibe is extremely positive.”

Bathurst are searching for their fifth Astley Cup in eight years, and their 25^th overall win.