Yenda Blueheelers coach Lance Poka said his side has been hit by the delayed vintage, with several of their top-flight stars unavailable for the next two weekends. “We are struggling for numbers (at training) at the moment because of vintage,” Poka said.

“We are hoping it will be over in the next couple of weeks and we can start to get some guys at training.

“We knew this was going to happen but we wanted to attract some other players to the club to help.”

Despite the lack of numbers at training, the Yenda side has already flexed its muscle in the pre-season, winning the Black and Whites Sevens tournament a few weeks ago.

Waratahs coach Mark Palmer said the club was riding high after its last gasp win over the Black and Whites last weekend.

However, Palmer said his young side will have to heed the messages given to them last week or face not making the second weekend of the Paul Kelly shield.

“We are pretty confident we will do well this weekend,” Palmer said.

“We’re not quite sure what to expect from the other teams in the competition, but we will know a lot more after the knockout.

“The main thing that did come out of last week is the fact they (Tigers) never stopped or gave up until after the bell, and what it showed is that if we control the ball and secure the ball, we can control the game.”

Black and Whites coach Paul Lawrence said his side was coming together well ahead of the annual fixture, with many positives coming out of last weekends game, despite the result not going the way he had hoped.