Butler's season looked to be over when he injured his shoulder in the win over Forster-Tuncurry a fortnight ago. He missed Wingham's tenacious 16-12 win over Wauchope in the final last Sunday but is now a chance to play on Sunday.

"He trained on Tuesday night but he's still carrying the shoulder a bit,'' Atkins said.

"I think he'll play - he's pretty tough, but I'll give him as much time as possible.''

Should Butler be right he'll slot straight back into the back row. Tyler Atkins will move from second row to centre to cover for Garyn Burns, who aggravated a hamstring injury in the opening minutes against Wauchope last week. Burns is no chance of playing this weekend.

Port were big winners over Wingham the last time the teams met on the opening week of the finals series.

Atkins said his side had injury problems and other concerns going into that match but admits the Tigers will have to improve on that effort to be a contender this week.

Wingham and Port drew the opening match of the season at Wingham.

"We led then 26-6 at halftime in the next round at Port and they ended up beating us 28-26,'' Atkins recalled.

"They're a good side but that shows we can match it with them.''

Atkins was happy with the way his side defended in the final against Wauchope - the team he rated as the best in the competition.

"And we showed a lot of character to come from behind and win,'' he added.

The Tigers were home after an intercept by winger Michael Bailey three minutes from fulltime.

"He's the fastest player in the club,'' Atkins said.

Atkins pointed out that Wingham has a strong record in reserve grade in recent years.

"Hopefully we'll have an even better one after Sunday,'' Atkins added.

Wingham's squad will be Jordan Saunders, Brock Galea, Tyler Atkins, Ben Gallagher, Michael Bailey, Nick Beacham, Justin Berry, Tate Grofos, Trent Grofos, Jackson Mullen, Corey Sheehan, Christ Butler, Brendan Butler, Brad Sowter, Reece Slaven, Craig Ryan, Cody Green, Sam Bartlett.

OLD Bar coach Jamie Moorehead will be looking for his middle men to stand up in Sunday's Group Three Rugby League under 18 grand final against Wauchope.

The Blues have a big and physical pack who look to dominate the middle third of the park.

"Wauchope's as big as most first grade sides around here,'' Moorehead reasoned.

"They look to play the game up the middle so that's where we have to be strong.''

However, Moorehead is confident his players are up to the task.

Second rower Luke Polson has probably been Old Bar's best in the finals series.

"If I had 13 players like Luke I'd be a happy coach," Moorehead said.

He added that hooker Sam Rowsell has been outstanding in Old Bar's march to the grand final.

"He works hard - there's not much of him but he whacks hard,'' the coach said.

Moorehead won't be able to finalise his team until after tomorrow's under 16 grand final featuring Taree Red Rovers.

He'll have six players from Rovers available for selection on Sunday.

"We'll be up at Wingham cheering for Rovers. But I won't be able to confirm until Saturday night or Sunday morning what the team is when I check how they've pulled up,'' Moorehead said.

Wauchope may boast some strong forwards but Moorehead isn't discounting their backs, led by quicksilver five-eighth Kurtley Scott, who has played a deal of first grade in the past two years.

"He's their X-factor,'' Moorehead said.

"He scored something like 26 points in the major semi.''

Moorehead said both sides can score tries from any part of the field and he predicts it will be an entertaining clash. While the Pirates will field a young side he doesn't believe they'll be overwhelmed by the occasion.

"We've survived three eleimination games in the past three weeks so this is just another pressure game,'' he said.