Gunnedah have lost inspirational batsman Brodie Cleal for their clash against Inverell in the Connolly Cup final at Wolseley Oval on Sunday.
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Just how inspiration Cleal is to the side was revealed this week when it emerged that he starred in last Sunday's semi-final defeat of Moree despite having virtually no sleep the night of the game due to his mine job.
He also went into the match with a bad back.
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Despite those impediments, he combined with Farran Lamb for an 83-run partnership, after coming together when Gunnedah were 4-30. Cleal made a patient 104-ball 34.
Gunendah finished on 9-137 off 50 overs, then dismissed Moree for 45.
But work means Cleal will miss Sunday's clash - although he has been replaced by the experienced Mitchell Swain, who captained Gunnedah to War Veterans Cup glory in 2018-19.
Cleal said he was "kicking himself" over missing the final.
"It's a shame," he said. "It would have been great to be a part of it. But work comes before sport, I suppose, unfortunately."
Gunnedah captain Blake Small said Swain was a "good" replacement.
A key to the side's success, he continued, was the strong bond between teammates.
"We all get along with each other, on and off the field, and we all play for each other," he said.
"We all want to win - that's what it comes down to. Hopefully everyone performs on the day and does their job, and we should go very close."
Gunnedah will take an unbeaten record into the finale, with six wins, and will be imbued by the knowledge that only three opposition teams have prevailed at Wolseley Oval in 18 games over the past five years.
Small - who captained Gunnedah to their last Connolly Cup triumph, in 2017-18 - concurred with his veteran quick Troy Sands when he said Wolseley Oval was "a different kind of wicket".
"You've gotta play here to know what it's like," he said. "Inverell and every other team we've played around this area, they're normally used to playing on 'roads', really: decent wickets.
"But come to Gunnedah, we can't really get that quality here - and we're just used to playing on it. The bowlers know what to do."
One of those bowlers is Farran Lamb, who backed up his 44 against Moree by taking 5-11.
Lamb said Gunnedah were "obviously very confident as a group".
