PORT Panthers Pirates sit pretty on top of the Hastings River District Cricket Association first grade ladder, and it's the best position they've enjoyed ahead of the Christmas break in years.
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The Pirates have an outright under their belts from the two-day competition and sit seven points ahead of Macquarie Hotel.
Given it's only a five-team competition this season, there's plenty of incentive for the Pirates to stay at the top of the table.
The minor premier goes straight through to the season decider.
Pirates captain Ben Woodward will enjoy the time off the field, but he said there was still plenty of work left to do.
A couple of tough matches after Christmas could knock the team off its perch.
The Pirates come up against last year's premier Wauchope RSL then runner-up Macquarie Hotel in consecutive weekends.
They will need the likes of Peter Colver to keep firing with the bat, and Nick Bartlett and Kirk Lower with the ball.
Lower is part of Pirates' university contingent which has come back to play a role in the Pirates' success so far this season.
Jack Connolly and Jack Darcy have also been strong.
One benefit of the shortened season is that the university players will be on holidays for most of it, allowing them to play in town.
Should Pirates go straight to the grand final, they will only have to come back for one weekend instead of three.
"First, we've got to make the final," Woodward said.
Macquarie Hotel dropped the ball in last weekend's loss to Wauchope RSL, and skipper Michael Pelley wasn't pleased to go into the break on the wrong end of a scoreline.
Rain reduced the match to a one-dayer, and Pelley's men just didn't score enough runs.
Macquarie was rolled for 83 while chasing down RSL's 9-133.
"We've just got to do more with our batting," Pelley said.
A bye in the last round means Macquarie has to do enough to be where it wants to be a round earlier than everyone else.
At least the team is bowling well. Dylan Rumble is making inroads into oppositions' batting orders.
"He's really starting to bowl well," Pelley said.
"This is his first year back. He had to get his match fitness back."
Third placed RSL hasn't had the best start to the season, but captain Brad Baxter is pleased the team is still within striking distance of the top of the ladder.
Like a lot of sides in the competition, batting problems have plagued RSL. Batsmen aren't patient enough to build big innings.
"They're not batting for long periods of time," Baxter said of his men, who are trying to defend last year's title.
Strange as it may seem, Baxter said that last season's carnival of twenty20 cricket helped RSL find form in the longer formats.
Evergreen all-rounder Jason Blythe has been RSL's best this season. He's spent some time off the park though, thanks to injury.
"He's been good with bat and ball," Baxter said.
Baxter will relish having Blythe and Dan Morrison back on the field after the break. He'll then have a welcome selection headache.
"We have a squad of about 14 or 15, so our depth has been pretty good," he said.
Port City Leagues Magpies and Comboyne round out the ladder.