Narrabri Touch hosts opening round of its 2023 season mixed competition

Touch footy players were welcomed back to the sport by exhaustingly hot weather on Monday evening when Narrabri Touch hosted round one of its 2023 season mixed competition at the Cooma Oval fields. However, the conditions did not affect the quality as the 12 teams in action produced some entertaining contests.

Phoenix Two390, Specialised Quarries and Concrete, Cougars, Tradies and Ladies, Banksia Babes and Blokes and Sprayerbarn Spinouts all scored opening-round wins, and Hounddogs won by forfeit against Charlie Sheen’s Disciples.

TRTW also sat out in round one as it was dealt the bye.

There were 70 tries scored across the six matches as the crowds watched some sensational attacking touch footy unfold.

In the first timeslot of games, which got underway at 6pm, Cougars beat M’tees 10-3, Tradies and Ladies outscored RSL Guys and Gals 12-0, and Sprayerbarn Spinouts defeated Win Or Booze 9-4.

The second set of matches started at 6.35pm, which saw Phoenix Two390 down Wilga Pelicans 9-2, Specialised Quarries and Concrete outcsore The Kerrigans 7-1, and Banksia Babes and Blokes beat Hammertime 8-5.

In Cougars’ seven-point win against M’tees, there were seven players from the victorious side who went over for tries. Rya Knox scored a hat-trick, Clifford Toomey Junior bagged a double, and Taneika Cochrane, Michael, Angie and Mackenzie Knox and Braedon Mason-Kelly all chipped in with a try each. M’tees’ tries were shared between Tianne Parker, Peter Meppem and Rowan Keeler.

Tradies and Ladies’ 12 tries were spread across five players, as Natalia Smith crossed on four occasions, James Baker scored a hat-trick, Jacob Nichols and Ashtine Nott both went in twice and Gerri Cruckshank crossed once in their team’s shutout victory over RSL Guys and Gals.

In the Sprayerbarn Spinouts’ win against Win Or Booze, 10 players from the two sides were try-scorers. Jacob Booby scored a hat-trick for the winners, Brooke Field bagged a double and their teammates Abbey Anderson, Nick Anderson, Hayley Lang and Luke Tuckey all scored a try each. Win Or Booze’s four tries were shared between Keegan Richardson, Olivia Bange, Jonty Schwager, and George Scilley.

Phoenix Two390 scored nine tries in its round one win as Jaiden Lovegrove, Bernard O’Connor and Cassidy Staines all bagged doubles, and Tashanny Clark, Lachlan Cameron and Bec Warnock crossed once. Lachie Coffey and Luke Flood were the scorers of Wilga Pelicans’ tries.

Specialised Quarries and Concrete had five players cross for tries in its six-point win against The Kerrigans. Drew Tapscott and Clayton Pursche shared four tries evenly, and Mitch Creighton, Ruby Clayton and Abby McClure all went over once. Ben Redfern scored The Kerrigans’ only try in round one.

The leading try-scorer after one round is Banksia Babes and Blokes’ Sid Harvey, who grounded six times for his team in its three-point win. His teammates Emma Cain and Matt McDonnell also scored a try each, and Hammertime’s Tom Nolan bagged a double and Hamish Nolan, Georgie Hancock and Nick Coffey all went over once each in that game.

There are 15 teams contesting this year’s mixed competition, which is one more than last year.

Each team will play against all 14 of their opponents once during a 15-round regular season, and then all teams will be placed into grades for the finals series.

The grand final is expected to be played under lights on a Friday night at the Narrabri Rugby Club as it was last year.

Also, when daylight saving ends in April, the competition will move to Hogan Oval and Leitch Oval where the remainder of the season will be played under lights.

The first night of matches at those venues will be Monday, April 3.

The round two fixtures and referee appointments for Monday, February 13, are as follows:

6pm:
Canteen duty – Steph Lilliebridge; field one – Win or Booze v Phoenix Two390 (referees – Matt Roberts and Tianne Parker); field two – Wilga Pelicans v Cougars (referees – Linton Grumley and Jess McFetridge); field three – Specialised Quarries and Concrete v Banksia Babes and Blokes (referees – Peter Quirk and Jydon Hill); field four – RSL Guys and Gals v TRTW (referees – Ben Redfern and Pat Mowle).

6.35pm
Canteen duty – Joan O’Neill; field one – Sprayerbarn Spinouts v Hammertime (referees – Matt Roberts and Emma John); field two – M-tees v Hounddogs (referees – Michael Knox and Jonty Schwager); field three – The Kerrigans v Tradies and Ladies (referees – Ken Nolan and Craig Gleeson).

Bye – Charlie Sheen’s Disciples.