So good that they left Kandos with a 62-14 win on Saturday, further distancing themselves from every other side on the New Era Midwest Cup ladder.

Not many would have picked a Waratahs win but after just two minutes, the home side led the ladder leaders 6-0 and looked to be in the right mood for an upset.

Blackheath hit back almost instantly, stretching the lead to to double digits before Kandos inched closer with an Ethan Parsons try.

From that point on, the class of the Cats was evident as the visitors ran in 11 tries and nine conversions.

Something the Waratahs will take away from Saturday’s game is the three tries they were able to post against Blackheath as the Cats have conceded a total of 32 points all season – 22 of them were let in against Kandos.

Although that statistic could be viewed as a silver lining, captain-coach Glenn Osgood didn’t share the same satisfaction as he called out his side for a lack of enthusiasm in defence.

“Our first contact isn’t up to standard right now,” Osgood said.

“You can’t compete with a team like Blackheath if you aren’t committed and don’t aim up in defence.

Despite losing three extremely lop-sided games, the Waratahs are still well within striking range of the top four as they sit in fifth position and remain a few for and against points outside finals contention.

“We are still a chance of playing finals footy but the next few weeks are critical,” he said. “It doesn’t get any easier this weekend against orange. They’re a big physical side and we just need to be more willing to put in the effort for each other.”

“If we don’t, we could be in for another long day.”

The Waratahs will be buoyed by a friendly schedule from here on in as they play three of their remaining four games at home before hopefully entering the post-season. The run to the finals starts on Saturday against the second-placed Orange Barbarians before a pair of crucial clashes at Portland and at home against CSU. The latter two meetings will likely shape the final four and if Kandos is able to win one of those two matches, a spot in the finals is likely.

The first challenge however is on Saturday against the Barbarians.