Knox coach Cam Blades think his side needs to prepare for the unexpected this weekend when they face Waverley at Queen’s Park in a top of the table clash that could determine the outcome of the 2023 CAS premiership.

Back from the school holidays and the representative break, the Waverley clash is the first of three tough fixtures remaining for Knox, who are chasing the school’s first title since 2016.

“We’ve got games that are all going to be really competitive and the group is really excited about that challenge,” Blades told Rugby News.

“With a five game competition, it’s a sprint and you’ve usually got to win every game anyway so nothing much has changed for us in terms of how we’re approaching each match.”

Knox overcame a slow start in their opening round clash to beat Trinity in early June, then were far too good for Aloys.

Waverley are also undefeated and snuck past Cranbrook in round one before defeating reigning premiers Barker in the final round before the holidays.

Blades knows how tough Saturday’s challenge will be, but seems pleased with where his side’s game is at with three rounds remaining.

“I’ve really liked the fact that the team seem to know how they want to play in different areas of the field. I think our game management has been pretty good.

“I’ve also really liked our defensive resolve. It’s a big part of what we’re trying to build as a group, to make sure that we’re not just focusing on one aspect of the game but we’re making sure that our defence is rock solid and I thought we’ve been good in that area.

“We had a bit of a slow start against Trinity and that’s something we’re going to need to avoid in the final three rounds, but outside of that I’m pretty happy with how we’ve been playing.”

Close to the entire Knox first XV squad played representative footy in some form in recent weeks and while Blades said the boys have all returned with plenty of confidence, he admitted it’s taken some work to get everyone back on the same page.

“It’s always an exciting time for young rugby players. We were fortunate to have a lot of boys involved in the rep period this year and they’ve been off doing their own thing for the last few weeks.

“Last week, we came back together as a group and everyone settled back in nicely.

“Obviously you’ve got to try and get everyone back on the same page though because the boys have played in a few different teams in a few weeks and they’ve had other game styles put in their heads by different coaches, which is great for them to experience.

“But they all seem excited to get back to playing our style of rugby and to finish the season off with three good performances in what will be three really tough games.”

Waverley also had the majority of their squad involved in representative rugby and a number of players will face one another this weekend after lining up as teammates during the holidays.

“They’re an interesting side Waverley,” Blades said.

“They’ve got some damaging ball runners who we’ll need to manage and contain.

“They can play an up tempo game and they like to play unstructured footy. They can throw things at you that you might not be prepared for at times and it’s our job to identify that and solve the issues on the run.

“The other thing about Waverley is that they are very gritty. They are a side that stays in the fight for the entire game so you’ve got to keep your intensity levels high.

“They won their first CAS game at the death, and they were very consistent right through the Barker fixture as well. We’ll need to be focussed and switched on for the entire match.”

In the rounds other matches, Barker host Cranbrook and Aloys travel to face Trinity.