By BRYSON LUFF

For the Narromine Jets Saturday the 10^th September 2022 was a momentous day!

Playing on their home turf, the Jets had all three teams jousting for a berth in the Christie and Hood Castlereagh League grand finals and things were most certainly on the up at the completion of the League Tag fixture when it was a case of two up and one to go with their reserve grade and league tag sides winning against Gilgandra and Dunedoo respectively and booking their spots in the season finale at Gilgandra next Saturday.

Those wins came prior to a presentation of the NSWRL 2022 Community Club of the Year award to the Narromine Club.

The presentation of that major award was immediately followed by another deserved recognition of the club’s high level of involvement it has with its local community and the support that it gives to that community when it was awarded the extremely prestigious National Rugby League’s 2022 Community Club award.

With the cutting and consumption of the celebration cake put on hold until after the on-field action had finished for the day, it perhaps tasted somewhat bittersweet because the Jet’s first grade side failed to make it a red and white trifecta on grand final day when they went down to the Cobar Roosters.

The day opened with the home club registering a big win against an ill-disciplined Gilgandra Panthers outfit in the reserve grade fixture before their league tag side won an entertaining and hard fought affair against the Dunedoo Swannettes.

The Jets had got themselves out to a 10 to 4 lead by half time, but the Swannettes responded soon after the break with a converted try to lock it up 10 all early in the second half.

That score did not change until a penalty goal to the Jets with seven minutes to go broke the deadlock to make it 12 to 10, but the game was still in the balance, and the result only being decided with a minute remaining when the home side was able to score a try to make it 16 to 10 to earn a shot at premiership glory next Saturday when they will take on the Baradine Magpies.

The Jets and Swannettes battled it out in the leaguetage. PHOTO: Peter Sherwood.

The first-grade game between the Jets and the Cobar Roosters saw the scores locked up at 12 all at half time with the two teams scoring two tries each, all of them by forwards from close range which was indicative of how the game was played in the opening stanza.

The second half saw a bit more ball movement and in that area it was the Roosters that proved to be superior, particularly in the latter stages of the game with their hard running fullback Ash Davies grabbing a double in the Roosters 32 to 18 victory.

Cobar now enters their first Castlereagh League first grade grand final, and whilst they will be short on grand final experience the same cannot be said about their opponents next Saturday, the Gilgandra Panthers.

In a remarkable record, Gilgandra have earned the right to host their sixth consecutive grand final, and although not all of their players have played in one or more of those five preceding grand finals, a lot of them have and this could well have an influence on the final result.

In their meetings so far this year the Roosters scored a big 34 to 14 win at Cobar in the opening round whilst the Panthers just got home 28 to 26 in Gilgandra in round 11.

Perhaps a gauge of their more recent form might be that in the past weeks both teams have had to defeat the Narromine Jets at Narromine to gain entry into the grand final, the Panthers winning the major semi 32 to 28 and the Roosters taking the preliminary final 32 to 18.

Spectators are urged to allow extra time to gain entry to McGrane Oval for the grand finals as vehicles and bags will be inspected for glass and alcohol being bought into the ground.

Christie and Hood Castlereagh League Preliminary Final Scores.

Played at Cale Oval, Narromine Saturday 10 September.

League Tag

Narromine 16 (Lily Spackman, Jacana Powell, Kelsea Phillips tries, Spackman 2 goals) defeated Dunedoo 10 (Hallie Hogden, Mia Gallagher tries, Hogden goal)

Rugby League

Reserve Grade

Narromine 38 (Isaac Thompson 2, Luke Harding, Jordan Fleming, Mitch Rixon, Ryan Richardson tries, Jack Powell 7 goals) defeated Gilgandra 10 (Peter Knight, Jarrod Fuller tries, Shane Ritchie goal)

First Grade

Cobar 32 (Ash Davies 2, James Neyland, Tom Plater, Sione Fakahua, Loma Atuah tries, Plater 4 goals) defeated Narromine 18 (Tyler Beer 2, Ryan Wheeler tries, Janus Walford 3 goals)

Grand Finals at Gilgandra Saturday 17^th September.

First game (reserve grade) at 11.30am.

Reserve Grade: Binnaway Bombshells V Narromine Jets

League Tag: Baradine Magpies V Narromine Jets

First Grade: Gilgandra Panthers V Cobar Roosters

STRICTLY NO GLASS OR ALCOHOL TO BE TAKEN INTO GROUND.

Police and security will be in attendance and vehicles/bags etc searched

Admission;

Adults $10.00

Pensioners; $5.00

Under 16 free.