He’s right, too. But he’s undersold it, just a touch.

Prior to last weekend’s 36-6 elimination semi-final win over the Colts at Portland, Rudd’s club hadn’t tasted victory in the post season. 

It was only the second time since 2012 the club has made the semi-finals.

So for the red, white and blues to now be mixing it with one of the competition’s best teams in the second week of the 2017 finals series, Saturday’s clash at Jack Arrow Oval is, just maybe, a little more than just a big game.

Despite Villages holding a 2-0 record against the Orange club in 2017, Rudd believes the Barbarians are more than capable of matching it with Bathurst-based outfit.

“We’ve got a bit to show them through the season that we didn’t during the year,” he said.

“I know they’re missing their captain-coach Jarrod Gaffa through suspension and a lot of their attack centres around him, so that will play into our hands a bit.”

The veteran utility pointed towards last weekend’s semi-final results as a key form indicator.

The Barbarians won by 30 points while Villages was handed a semi-final masterclass by CSU Yellow, the students racking up a commanding 58-20 win at Diggings Oval.

“You’re only as good as your last start and they had 60 put on them and we nearly ran in 40 on Portland. We’re in with a good shot,” he added.

Rudd revealed the key to the Barbarians enjoying some on-field success in 2017 was a combination of a settled line-up and a focus on discipline. 

“(Ill-discipline) led us astray in games at the start of the year,” he said, while a 28-26 loss to CSU instilled the Barbars with plenty of self belief.

“After we gave CSU a shake where they beat us on the buzzer, the boys saw in this squad, potentially, that there’s a real chance.”

Rudd identified halfback Corey McLean as one of his side’s best in its push for a grand final spot.

“He’s built for semi-finals and grand finals … we’ve seen in the last few games Corey is starting to find his feet. With him taking ownership,” he said.

Kick-off is on Saturday at 2.30pm at Jack Arrow Oval, Bathurst.