BATHURST Giants have enjoyed plenty of milestone victories since joining the Central West AFL's senior ranks in 2016, but as they now work into their fourth season there is still one which eludes them.
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On each of the four occasions the Giants have ventured to South Dubbo Oval, they have walked off the field at full-time as a vanquished outfit.
The closest the Giants have come to prevailing on the Demons' turf was a 12-9-81 to 8-16-64 result in round 11 last year.
Come this Saturday the Giants will venture to South Dubbo Oval once more and coach Mark Kennedy hopes this time it will be his men who prevail.
"We haven't done it yet, it's one of those boxes we just haven't been able to tick as a senior club," he said.
"We've beaten every team in the competition now, we just haven't beaten Dubbo at Dubbo. It's one of those things were are striving for and are trying to work for, it's one of those last boxes for us to tick."
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From the two games they have played so far this season, both the Giants and the Demons have a win and loss.
But Kennedy feels that the 2019 Demons' line-up is a stronger one that the group which placed fifth last season, which adds another degree of difficulty to an already imposing road trip.
"They come with a bit of a reputation this year that they are really focused. They have got a goal set and that is a grand final and a premiership this year, so it's going to be one of the toughest trips going over there for any team," Kennedy said.
We haven't done it yet, it's one of those boxes we just haven't been able to tick as a senior club.
- Mark Kennedy
"I think they've got a lot of players back from last year, so they've got a bit of consistency in their playing group now. They know their roles and their responsibilities around those roles.
"They've got a new coach and I think he's pretty focused on what he wants to do and what he wants to achieve.
"We have a lot of respect for each other off the field ... but once we cross that white line, well we both want to win."
The Giants head into the match on the back of an impressive 117-point win over the Bushrangers Outlaws.
While they have lost Alex Cuttiford for up to eight weeks with a broken foot, and Shaun Noyen is in doubt with an ankle injury, one of the stand-outs from that victory - Tim French - will make the trip to Dubbo.
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"It was really disappointing for us because Alex was a really good leader and mentor for us on the paddock. That's going to be a big loss for us. He'll still be involved with the club, but not in a playing capacity," Kennedy said.
"But Tim French is available for us this week. He's just ran a muck on the weekend, just having that imposing body around the ball was really positive for us.
"It would be nice if we could win [but] you really just can't really tell in this league what is going to happen until you get down until the last six weeks of the competition."
Opening bounce at South Dubbo Oval on Saturday is 2.30pm.
