Southern Districts host Randwick in the second qualifying final of the weekend at Forshaw on Saturday afternoon.

Despite leading the competition for most of the season, the Galloping Greens dropped to fifth place following last weekend’s loss to Warringah and now must beat Southern Districts at home to extend their season – something they were able to do earlier this month when Randwick beat Souths 28-24 in round 16.

“We took a lot out of that match. It was definitely an opportunity to learn and we’ve refined a few things in our game after that,” Souths coach Matt Barr said.

At that point, Randwick looked on track to claim the minor premiership, however consecutive losses to Eastwood and Warringah ended any hope of that.

“Honestly, we’re not concerned with the results of the past fortnight. The only thing that matters now is how we play this weekend,” Randwick coach Shannon Fraser said.

“We’ve learnt some valuable lessons throughout the year, which I think will prove beneficial over the coming days and weeks.”

Randwick have welcomed back Super Rugby stars Andrew Kellaway, Dave Horwitz, Reece Robinson and Matt Carraro for Saturday’s clash, but Fraser said that hadn’t caused a disruption this week.

“We’ve had some difficult decisions to make surrounding selections and working within the points guideline, but selection issues are things that all teams have to deal with and I have no doubt after Dewet Roos and Duncan Chubb’s concussions last weekend, Souths have their own challenges on that front.”

Despite naming an all-star backline, Fraser said he thought the match would be won up front.

“We need to start strong and win the collision areas if we are to establish the platform to play our style and grind out the win.”

While Barr admitted that the Rebels were wary of the Randwick attack, he said he was confident in his sides ability and game plan.

“It’s an exciting backline so we need to control the ball and limit their opportunities as much as possible. When they are attacking, we need to stick to our defensive structures and I think we can get the job done.”

With just seven points separating the two sides after two matches this year, Barr is hopeful home ground advantage will be enough to get his team over the line.

“The boys always get a real lift from our loyal and vocal crowd and I don’t think tomorrow will be any different.”

Ladbrokes: Southern Districts $2.30; Randwick $1.57

Southern Districts (1-15)

Matt Gibbon, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Duncan Chubb, Fili Tufui, Angus Ryan, Alex Perez, Sean Doyle, Marcus Carbone, DeWet Roos, Rohan Saifoloi, Ben Connolly, Apolosi Latunipulu, Denny Godinet, Luke Smart, Chris Nay.

Randwick (1-15)

Sonny Satuala, Adam Freier, Tristan Goodbody, Will Munro, Ned Hanigan, Sam Croke, Mark Baldwin, Stephen Hoiles, Mitch Short, Andrew Deegan, Reece Robinson, David Horwitz, Brogan Roods, Matt Carraro, Andrew Kellaway.