Absent from the last two stages of the Greater Northern Cup since a thrilling one-wicket win over Wynyard in the 2010-11 final, the Lions hold a two-point buffer on Riverside and Burnie with four rounds to go.

Alistair Taylor's men will be without Daniel Smith for Saturday's home clash with Ulverstone, but are full of confidence following their first win on the North-West Coast in years.

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"We had a discussion at the start of the year and that was a goal of ours to play one-day finals," Taylor said.

"I don't think anyone in the group would have played a one-day final before, so it'd be a bit of a tick for us if we could do that this year but there's a long way to go.

"This week is going to be a big week against Ulverstone and we've still got some tough games - Westbury in a couple of weeks and Latrobe so there's not an easy game, but you've got to win those games if you want to play finals cricket."

Taylor will skipper the Lions for the first time this season.

MOWBRAY will host Burnie as James Storay's side continue to search for their first win of the campaign.

Jono Jones has been named to return for the Eagles, who have been buoyed by the form of ex-captain John LeFevre in recent weeks.

The 36-year-old has snapped a run drought with scores of 101 and 76 in his past three outings and has scored 110 more runs than any other Eagle.

"I think Rowdy's playing with a whole lot of freedom now that he's not having to worry about captaining or coaching, he can just go out and do his own thing," Storay said.

"He's a proven performer over a period of time - he's won four or five flags with us in an A-grade side so it's nice for me to see some reward for effort but also his loyalty to the club.

"We're going through a rebuild phase and he could have quite easily chucked it in, but he's hung about and stuck tight and I'm very appreciative that he's done that."

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A run of six consecutive home games will be broken when Westbury piles onto the team bus for an enticing second-versus-third match-up with Sheffield.

The Mountaineers remain the cup's only unbeaten side after seven rounds and could fancy their chances against a Westbury side which has been below its best in the past two weeks.

"We're in a pretty pivotal time for us so to make sure we come out with more wins than losses otherwise it'll be pretty hard for us to make finals," Westbury captain Dan Murfet said.

The visitors will likely make just one change, with second-grade skipper Matthew Allen replacing unavailable all-rounder Corey Briggs.

"Matty hasn't played first-grade for probably three or four years," Murfet said.

"Last year he made a 100 towards the back end of the season and made a nice 40-odd the other week.

"He deserves to be called up again, so he'll get an opportunity there with the bat through the middle order."

SOUTH LAUNCESTON captain Tom Waller insists his side still hasn't hit its straps despite a run of five consecutive wins.

Since starting the season with a loss to Riverside, the Knights have shot out to a nine-point lead at the top of the table and have been the competition's most potent bowling outfit.

A trip to Latrobe awaits the Knights this weekend with Jackson Young unavailable and Ishang Shah a chance to return.

"We definitely feel that we've got our best cricket in front of us, that's for sure," Waller said.

"I think we'll have a better understanding of where we're at once we've played all the North-West teams.

"We probably weren't at our absolute best in all three areas last week so we've just really had a focus on making sure that we are at our best and really doing those basics right."

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RIVERSIDE will travel to Devonport following routine wins over bottom sides Wynyard and Mowbray.

Blues sit atop the Cricket North batting and bowling charts heading into round eight, with Peter New's 242 runs and Sam Artis' 12 wickets more than any other player.

Sam Lockett, Matthew Owens and Josh Partridge replace experienced trio Tom Garwood, Patty Mackrell and Dan Forster.

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