EIGHT years ago when Adam Ryan made his senior representative cricket debut for Bathurst, they were underdogs when it came to playing Western Zone heavyweights Dubbo.
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How things have changed.
Since his first game against Dubbo in November 2012 - a match in which Ryan made 14 runs as his side lost by four wickets - Bathurst has developed into a Western heavyweight in their own right.
Ryan is now Bathurst skipper and he led the side to a 51-run win over Dubbo in last season's Western Zone Premier League grand final.
It means this Sunday when Bathurst hosts Dubbo in the second round of this season's WZPL competition at the Sportsground, his side can call themselves favourites.
That's not to say Ryan is expecting an easy match - he anticipates nothing but a tough contest given Dubbo are still very much a force - but the Bathurst captain knows he has the players within his side to get the better of their fierce rival.
"It's always our biggest challenge of the year, us and Dubbo, and we always look forward to it," Ryan said.
"We feel pretty confident with the squad that we've got we can continue to get the job done, but at the end of the day we can't be complacent either, we have to concentrate on doing those little things right.
It's always our biggest challenge of the year, us and Dubbo, and we always look forward to it.
- Adam Ryan
"That's they beauty of versing Dubbo, it's just a battle the whole time. If you drop a gear or you switch off a little, the other side gets the ascendancy, it's like an arm wrestle the whole time, the team that is willing to go that extra step will do the job."
Bathurst opened its title defence with a 36-run win over Cowra and is expected to field an unchanged line up for Sunday's round two meeting with Dubbo.
Ryan is crossing his fingers that the predictions of heavy rain across the weekend are wrong and that he and his team-mates get an early litmus of where they stand for the coming summer.
"The forecast keeps changing every minute, every hour, it puts you in two minds as to if you are playing," he admitted. "You've just got to prepare regardless and react when you get the news."
It rain does not wash-out the contest it could spice up the Sportsground deck. But Ryan's men proved they could tough it out with the bat last Sunday in Cowra when conditions favoured the bowlers.
He also feels playing at home this Sunday will further aid Bathurst's cause.
"Tough wicket first up last week and it just shows the character of the team. Our batting depth was spotlighted, it's something we've prided ourselves on the last couple of years, being able to bat between one and 10," Ryan said.
"Knowing that each game is a good contest and you've got a red-hot crack at coming away with a win is awesome.
"It could be a different track if it rains, when it's a dry, dead track there's not much for the bowlers except with the new ball, but when it comes to us versus Dubbo, I think its a pretty big advantage playing on our home ground, if you know how that deck plays."
