Day one of the round 12 clash saw the Rhinos win the toss, sending the Bloods in to bat, but in a surprise performance Tocumwal cashed in at the crease with Brad House (80) leading the way.
Anthony Bradley’s 3/39 off 12 was the best figures with the ball for Deni, but Tocumwal are in the box seat after finishing 6/250 after 80 overs.
Rhinos skipper Brad Todd said while the task won’t be easy, he is still confident his side can pinch the victory.
‘‘We just need to back ourselves in and bat how we would normally,’’ he said.
‘‘Saturday (tomorrow) will give us a great chance to bat a full 80 overs chasing 250. I can’t see us knocking it over quickly, so we will need to bat the full 80 to win the game.
‘‘The wicket shouldn’t change too much, if we get a bit more water into the preparation of the wicket, it should see it play well again.
‘‘With finals around the corner it’s important for us to win this match.
‘‘You never want to lose. A loss wouldn’t be ideal preparation for next week, but that’s why the season is 15 games long.
‘‘We have proven to be the second best side all year up to this point, so there’s no real need to panic if we don’t get the result Saturday (tomorrow).’’
Playing in the Rhinos favour will be Tocumwal’s struggles with the ball in hand this year, with the Bloods knocked around for 358 runs against Nathalia in round 11.
The Rhinos skipper said his side still needs to respect their opponents with the ball.
‘‘They are quite an even bowling side, so we just need to play each delivery as it comes,’’ Todd said.
‘‘If we get stuck worrying about a certain bowler or bowling type your natural instincts won’t take over and that will get us into trouble.
‘‘We’re looking at everyone in the side to lift with the bat. We haven’t been great of late, so we need to knuckle down this weekend and grab our opportunities.
‘‘There are a few guys like Ash Germano, Angus Campbell, Chris Pyle and Liam Pitts who are missing from the side, so there’s plenty of pressure on spots for next week.’’
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