Peter McDonald Premiership: Macquarie's Jack Kavanagh will return to the field

The Macquarie Raiders' co/captain-coach will be back this weekend for his side in their local Peter McDonald Premiership derby on Sunday against Dubbo CYMS, Kavanagh's first game since the end of May.

It's been a stop-start return to Macquarie for Kavanagh, playing just three games this season due to suspension and after such a long lay-off, he is ready to go.

"It's been a long time coming, you throw a few of those byes in and it feels like round one again," he said.

With aggression being one of Kavanagh's biggest assets, he admitted watching on during matches has been frustrating at times.

"Especially when you see stuff in games which is a lot worse than I was sidelined for," he said.

"Some of them weren't even penalties, the most frustrating thing is that it wasn't equal across the board for me."

Over the past few seasons, the Dubbo derby hasn't been as fiery as it once was and CYMS have largely dominated, winning the match earlier this season, Kavanagh's last game.

"It's a good game to come back in being a local derby," he said.

"But we are going into this one just treating it as another game, our goal at the moment is to make the top four.

"We don't care about finishing first, second or third, we just want to be in the finals.

"It might be a local derby but we aren't buying into the hype too much anymore."

Macquarie currently sits in fifth on the Group 11 ladder, just a single point behind Nyngan with just five matches remaining.

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After a strong win last weekend against Bathurst St Pat's, Kavanagh believes the group can start stringing wins together and make a bit push for the finals.

"We've still got a few little niggling injuries around the club," he said.

"Once we get a full-strength side on the field, I think we will go a long way to making that top four."

Two players who have made an impact in the last few weeks especially, Luke and Jarrod Michael have seemingly come out of nowhere.

Moving to Dubbo from Coonabrabran, Luke Michael made his club debut in round one this season, playing reserve grade but now he and brother Jarrod are making a name for themselves in first grade.

This weekend, the pair will once again play in the top grade and Kavanagh feels they've settled in very nicely.

"They are pretty well-spoken lads, they just ask what their role is and not asking to be anywhere or play any spot," he said.

"Those are the kind of players you need."

Sunday's match at Apex Oval will kick off at 2:15pm.

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