Gilgandra Panthers have celebrated their return to the playing field with a win against Baradine Magpies in Round One of the 2026 Christie and Hood Castlereagh League competition.
Playing in front of a large and appreciative home crowd, a three-try performance by co-coach and centre Tyler Bamblett saw the Panthers come away with a strong 40-10 victory over a black and white outfit that tried hard to the final whistle.
Bamblett’s direct and hard running in the centres saw him score two tries in first half and along with a try to his coaching partner, second-rower David Smith, the Panthers held a hard fought 16-6 lead at the break.
The second half was punctuated by numerous injury stoppages as Gilgandra went on with the job, despite having a player sent off in the 17th minute, to register an important win for the club after missing last year.
At Narromine, the Jets may have considered themselves unlucky not to have come away with maximum competition points in their match against the reigning premiers, Coolah Kangaroos, having outscored the visitors in the try scoring department but having to settle for a 30-all draw.
The Jets can take some solace in the fact they are the first side to claim a competition point from the Kangaroos in the past three seasons.
In the other games there was plenty of try-scoring action at Dunedoo’s Robertson Oval where the Swans got over Coonamble Bears 42-36, whilst just down the road at Gulgong spectators saw Coonabarabran Unicorns register a 38-26 win over the Bull Terriers.
The Unicorns would have been very confident they had the game in the bag at half-time, trooping to the sheds as 26-4 leaders.
However, the fighting spirit of the Terriers shone through in the second half, and they certainly were well in the contest when the scoreboard saw them trailing 26-32.
Coonabarabran finished the scoring action for the afternoon with a converted try to come away with important first up victory.
In the final game played at Cobar there were 11 tries scored, with the Roosters downing Warren Bulldogs 44-16.
On the League Tag scene Gilgandra Pink Panthers broke through for their first win in a number of seasons when they edged out Baradine, an improved Gulgong team just got over the Unicorns, Coolah Kangaroos started their premiership defence in style with a solid win over Narromine Jets, whilst their Grand Final opponents from last year Dunedoo Swannettes ran rampant over Coonamble, and Cobar Roosterettes and Warren Bulldogs fought out a draw.
There will be a general bye this weekend for ANZAC with round two of the competition to be played on 2 May.
Click here for results from the Christie and Hood Castlereagh League.
