A long and at times extremely hot pre-season is finally in the rearview mirror and the Narrabri Rugby Club’s three teams are ready to roll as their first games of the season arrive this Saturday.
The Blue Boars will challenge their rivals the Moree Bulls in first grade, second grade and women’s tens matches, and there could potentially also be a third grade fixture contested as well if both clubs can get numbers confirmed.
Central North Rugby Union’s 2024 campaign officially got underway last weekend. The Blue Boars’ first grade side was initially scheduled to play in round one against Walcha, but the Rams are no longer in the competition after withdrawing earlier this year. Narrabri’s second grade and women’s teams were always going to sit out with byes in round one, and now the whole club get to kick-start their campaigns on the same day at Weebolla Oval.
It will be a big day for Central North Rugby Union as the three 2023 season grand final winners will all play at the same venue. Moree are the defending champions in both men’s competitions after they defeated Tamworth Pirates 28-17 in first grade and 17-7 in second grade in Tamworth last September after the Narrabri Blue Boars had won their maiden women’s premiership with a 26-12 victory against Gunnedah.
The Narrabri women’s team are now determined to get their premiership defence off and running with a victory, while the Blue Boars’ men’s teams are keen to test themselves against the benchmark of Central North Rugby Union.
The first grade game is also a chance for the Narrabri first XV to get revenge on the Bulls after they were eliminated by their rivals in week one of the finals series in 2023.
However, for new Blue Boars first grade coach Craig Gleeson, the round one contest offers a fresh start and a chance for the entire club to begin on the front foot. He has been impressed with what he has seen across the pre-season from the senior men’s squad and he is keen to see how that translates to the playing field on Saturday.
“It has been fantastic all the way through the pre-season to be honest,” Gleeson said.
“Our numbers have been really strong. There’s probably been five to 10 different people every week, but there has always been around the 35 to 40 mark. They’ve all been training really hard and there’s some good depth there.
“Having some really strong leaders and a good forward pack puts us in good stead heading into Saturday.
“Having our front row back with Sam Spanton, Will Turner and Will Ciesiolka there, I think that will be a really strong area for us, and it will be the launching pad for everything we do.
“We have a bit of a different backline now as well with Todd Nichols, Will McDonnell and Joe Baker at 10, 12 and 13, which I think is really exciting for us. They are very skilful players and they all love it when it gets tough. They love the defensive part of the game, and I think that’s an area where we’ll be really strong as well.”
Gleeson, a former Narrabri Blue Boars player himself, is well aware of what the Narrabri and Moree rivalry means to both clubs and both playing groups. He predicted that the two clubs’ first grade sides would be similar in terms of skill level come Saturday, and he is confident that the team with the best attitude will earn the win.
“I’m looking forward to our first game because it has been such a long pre-season, and being against Moree on top of that, I think adds an extra dimension,” he said.
“Moree and Narrabri have always got a very similar calibre of player, and quite often these games go down to intent, desire and attitude on the day. I think that’s going to be the case for us on Saturday.
“I think the key for us will be trying to stay quite composed and not letting Moree get into the game too much.
“We really just need to do what we’ve been practising at training and not focus too much on that old rivalry, even though we know it’s there.”
Gleeson named what he believes is a strong first XV for the Blue Boars’ first hitout of the campaign on Saturday. He said that he and his coaching staff had some hard decisions to make prior to selecting the side, but they have had conversations with players who are on the edge to let them know what they need to do to get themselves over the line for first grade selection.
The first grade team for Saturday’s game in Moree is as follows:
1. Sam Spanton, 2. Will Turner (vc), 3. Will Ciesiolka, 4. Connor Parkes, 5. Josh Schwager, 6. Jack Maunder (vc), 7. Nick Anderson 8. Hamish Nolan, 9. Miles Campbell, 10. Todd Nichols, 11. Jydon Hill, 12. Will McDonnell (c), 13. Joe Baker, 14. James Baker, 15. Morgan Jones, 16. Tom Cameron, 17. George Sedgwick, 18. Pat Wheeler, 19. Tom Baker, 20. Charlie Turner, 21. Mikey O’Brien, 22. James Albert, 23. Charlie Radford.
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Meanwhile, the Central North Rugby Union women’s tens competition will feature six teams this season after the Quirindi Lionesses were forced to pull out just before the season started due to a lack of numbers.
Rather than each team losing two of their 12 matches, they have all been drawn to play two extra games during the season when they otherwise may have had a bye or been scheduled to play against Quirindi.
Narrabri will now play an extra game against Barraba in round 14 on July 13, when both teams were scheduled to have a bye, and they will also play an extra game against Moree in round eight on May 25, when Narrabri were scheduled to face Quirindi and Moree were scheduled to have a bye.
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