It was a day full of celebration for Narrabri Rugby Club’s second grade side on Saturday as captain-coach Craig Summers played his 300th game for the club during which he and his men secured their most important win of the season with a remarkable comeback victory.
When the 45-year-old was clapped and cheered onto the field by an abundance of clubmates for his milestone match, he felt what he described as an unusual nervous feeling.
But he quickly shrugged that off, fully aware that his side was about to go to battle with the Gunnedah Red Devils in what was a must-win game.
The Blue Boars entered the match in fourth place on the ladder and knew that a loss could have ended their hopes of reaching the finals and playing for their first premiership since 2018.
However, a win would have been enough to guarantee the Narrabri side a spot in the top four.
They may have left it late but the Blue Boars got the job done.
Jacob Booby scored the winning try after the score was locked 8-all when the siren sounded.
Summers, who played the first 45 minutes of the 70-minute match and coached the remainder of it from the sideline, told The Courier that the bench around him erupted when Booby crossed the line.
The side’s captain-coach said that he was proud of his men.
“We played pretty good I thought,” Summers said.
“The boys really toughed it out, it wasn’t an easy game and we didn’t win it ‘til late but I thought we played really well as a team.
“We had some blokes who played really good games in amongst that too.
“Connor Parkes was the standout I thought and he got the three points.
“Alex Pay played really well as well and Hamish Nolan played pretty good in his first run-on game.
“And I thought the whole forward pack played pretty good to be honest.
“It was a do or die game for us, it was pretty much our grand final, if we didn’t win there was the possibility we weren’t going to make [the finals].
“I’m proud that the boys stood up and played how they did.”
‘Grub’, as he is commonly known as around the club, said that he believed his side could go all the way in 2021.
“I think we can do it this year,” Summers said.
“We are starting to come together at the right time.
“We’ve got some quality players amongst the side and a lot of those players have played in first grade throughout the year or in other years.
“There’s a good mix of young blokes coming through too who are learning off the older fellas.”
Summers said that while it was special to reach such a major milestone, the win was far more important.
“It created some nerves that I haven’t had for a long time,” he said.
“I got a bit nervous, I don’t know why, it might have been because of the build up the club put behind it.
“But definitely the priority for me was winning the game, it’s about the team and obviously I’m only one part of that team.”
Summers made his debut for the Blue Boars in 1993 and has played for the club almost every year with the exception of the four seasons he played for Tamworth Magpies from 2014 to 2017, as well as a few seasons he spent playing rugby league.
He has enjoyed success during his time with Narrabri Rugby Club which includes winning second grade grand finals with the Blue Boars in 1997, 2006, 2011 and 2018.
“I’ve made a lot of mates here over the years and that’s what I think footy’s about,” Summers said.
“You enjoy the game and winning those premierships but you enjoy the time with your mates more than anything.”
On Saturday, Narrabri and Gunnedah went into the break locked at nil-all following a scoreless opening 35 minutes of play.
The Blue Boars won a penalty just inside their attacking 22 after four minutes of play in the second stanza
and they elected to take a penalty goal which in-form kicker Toby Keys nailed with ease to make the score 3-0.
Gunnedah levelled the score in the 49th minute with a penalty goal of its own, then the hosts hit the lead just before the hour-mark when they scored the first try of the contest.
They could not convert that try as the score remained 8-3 and they were made to pay for the miss.
The Blue Boars won a penalty in the 65th minute and kicked for the sideline before throwing in a line-out from just inside their attacking 22.
They camped themselves deep in Red Devil territory and, despite trailing on the scoreboard, showed patience and class in attack as they picked and drove time and time again to inch closer to the line.
And then when the time was right the Blue Boars struck. They spread the ball left and after three cracks at the line they finally scored when halfback Nathan Nott threw the ball out to Nick Brennan who caught the ball five metres inside the touchline and went over to score.
Keys then missed a tricky conversion which made the score 8-all as Gunnedah kicked off with just 90 seconds left on the clock.
The Blue Boars charged right back down the other end after that kick-off and Keys put a kick in behind which a retrieving Gunnedah defender kicked out of play to thwart the attack.
However, the visitors continued right where they left off after winning the scrum. They attacked down the left edge, again picking and driving their way closer to the line.
A minute after the siren had sounded, halves partners Nathan Nott and Alex Pay made the right play at the right time as they spread the ball out to the right edge to outside centre Jacob Booby. Booby showed his class with a sensational right foot step close to the line which bamboozled the Gunnedah defence. That created a gap which the Narrabri gun charged through before he dived over to score the match-winning try.
Pay then added the extras to make the final score 15-8.
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