THE Orange Tigers and Cowra Blues will face-off in the penultimate round of the regular season this weekend after Central West AFL officials lifted a ban that would have prevented the bitter rivals from playing.

The two clubs have had anything but a friendly rivalry this season, with their last encounter called off on July 12 following an ugly brawl.

The incident saw Cowra’s Justin Simpson permanently ejected from the Blues’ squad, while several players from both Orange and Cowra were charged with striking.

The CWAFL had deducted four points from each side over the incident, but their appeals were recently upheld and they received their points back.

The Tigers now sit on top of the ladder just four points in front of their rivals from Cowra - but with the CWAFL lifting a ban that would have prevented the sides from playing this Saturday, the Blues could steal the minor premiership on superior percentages with a win at Cowra’s Mulyan Oval.

Orange will host Parkes in the final round when the Blues square-off with the Saints in Young, both matches the top two sides in the competition are expected to win comfortably against the bottom two sides in the league.

The clubs’ finish to the regular season ensures the winner of this Saturday’s blockbuster will be in pole position to finish in top spot and claim the all-important home semi-final when the sides meet again in the grand final qualifier on August 30.

Despite the brawl in the last match, Central West AFL operations manager Tony Lewis is confident the two teams will knuckle down and play within the rules on Saturday.

“We’re treating this like any other game,” he said.

“[But] we expect both teams to be on their best behaviour.”

Orange Tigers co-captain Pete Morgan said the team have put the past behind them and are focused only on playing good football.

Morgan said a victory for the Tigers would put them in good stead for the finals and predicted his team would be coming home from Cowra with the minor premiership on Saturday.

“That’s all we’re focusing on right now,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to playing them again.”