Cobar Roosters made short work of the visiting Narromine Jets in their Boronia Challenge Cup game at Cobar’s Tom Knight Memorial Oval last Saturday.
The undefeated Roosters ran in 12 tries as they completely dismantled the Jets 60-0.
It was a much closer affair on the other side of the vast Castlereagh League area when back-to-back premiers, Coolah Kangaroos, hosted Coonabarabran Unicorns in a replay of last year’s grand final played at the same venue.
However, this time around the blue and golds were the victors, winning by just four points, the final score being 28-24 to help them retain second place on the ladder.
Coolah’s loss has relegated them to fifth position on the table and whilst they sit three points in front of sixth-placed Gulgong, a couple of more losses could place their top five residency under threat.
Their first assignment in their bid to maintain their position on the ladder isn’t easy as they are up against the Roosters on Saturday. Working in their favour is they will be playing them on their home turf.
Dunedoo Swans leapfrogged Coolah on the ladder when they downed Gilgandra Panthers 40-26 at Dunedoo, the game being the first time the two clubs have played for the Scott Behsman Memorial Trophy.
Scott had a strong connection and involvement with both clubs but tragically lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this year.
The remaining game was played at Gulgong with the Bull Terriers getting over Coonamble Bears 32-24 with the win keeping them in the battle for a Semi-final berth with five rounds remaining.
The Castlereagh League Reserve Grade Semi-finals were played at Gilgandra on Sunday, attracting quite a good crowd in sometimes bleak conditions.
Both semis were sudden-death affairs with Coonabarabran proving to be too strong for Cobar. The class of veteran Jarvis Watton shone through in a polished performance, highlighted by his scoring of three brilliant individual tries in their 38-8 win.
The other semi was a much closer match-up between Coonamble Bears and Gulgong Bull Terriers, the final result being a 12-8 win to the Terriers.
The two winners will meet in the Grand Final to be played at Dunedoo this Sunday with the game kicking off at 12.30pm.
The match of the round will undoubtedly be played at Coolah between the Roos and the Roosters, but the fixture at Narromine between the Jets and Dunedoo Swans will also have a big bearing on the pecking order of the top five.
Click here for all Round 9 results from Christie and Hood Castlereagh League.
