Narrabri Touch’s 2023 season mixed competition teams have been placed into their grades and the finals series will get underway this coming week on Monday, May 8.
The 13th and final round of the regular season was held at Hogan Oval and Leitch Oval on Monday and the 14 teams ended it on a high as for the first time this year, every team scored multiple tries in the same round.
Sprayerbarn Spinouts wrapped up the top spot on the ladder when they beat Hounddogs 8-2. The win was the Spinouts’ 10th of the campaign to go with a draw, a loss and a washed out draw, which saw them finish on 35 competition points.
The old saying of ‘defence wins premierships’ was proven right again, in this case as it pertains to the minor premiership, as the Spinouts finished the regular season with a competition best 29 tries conceded.
Cougars also amassed 35 points as they scored their 10th win of the year on Monday by outscoring TRTW 10-3. Cougars had to settle for second as the Spinouts’ for and against was 65 tries compared to their 54. Cougars was one of two teams that finished the campaign with a season best 99 tries, the other being Phoenix Two390
Hammertime wrapped up third place on Monday with a 6-3 victory against The Kerrigans as it finished just one win behind the top-ranked duo.
A point behind Hammetime in the fourth spot are Banksia Babes and Blokes, which prevailed 9-3 against Wilga Pelicans in round 13.
Phoenix Two390 dropped from fourth to fifth after it was edged out 6-5 by Tradies and Ladies, the side that finished the season in sixth spot.
The next highest finisher was Win Or Booze, which won 8-2 against RSL Guys and Gals in round 13 to secure seventh spot.
The other match was won 5-2 by M’Tees against Specialised Quarries and Concrete. Those two sides finished ninth and 10th, respectively, behind the eighth-placed Hounddogs, while the Wilga Pelicans, TRTW, RSL Guys and Gals, and The Kerrigans finished 11th to 14th, respectively.
The 14 teams have been separated into three grades for the finals series.
The five highest ranked sides, which include minor premiers Sprayerbarn Spinouts and Cougars, Hammertime, the Banksia Babes and Blokes and Phoenix Two390, will play for the A-grade premiership.
Tradies and Ladies, Win Or Booze, Hounddogs and M’Tees are the four B-grade teams, while C-grade is made up of Specialised Quarries and Concrete, Wilga Pelicans, TRTW, RSL Guys and Gals, and The Kerrigans.
The A-and C-grade finals series will both run across four weeks, starting this Monday.
The top-ranked sides in both grades, which are the Sprayerbarn Spinouts in A-grade and Specialised Quarries and Concrete in C-grade, both have the week off and have automatically advanced to week two of the finals series.
The second and third-placed sides will meet in the qualifying final and the fourth and fifth-ranked teams will contest the elimination final.
The qualifying final winners will play against the top-ranked teams in the major-semi-finals in week two, while the qualifying final losers will meet the elimination final winners in the minor-semi-finals in week two.
The losers of the elimination finals in week one will be eliminated, as will the losers of the minor semi-finals in week two.
The winners of the major semi-finals will progress straight through to the June 5 grand finals, and the losers will play against the winners of the minor semi-finals in preliminary finals on Monday, May 29.
The B-grade teams will play friendly matches this Monday and will begin their finals campaign on Monday, May 22, at the semi-final stage.
Fixtures and referee appointments for this week are as follows:
6pm:
Desk duty – Mereka Gleeson; field one – Cougars v Hammertime (referees – Craig Gleeson and Brendon Warnock); field two – Tradies and Ladies v Hounddogs (referees – Ken Nolan and Jonty Schwager); field three – RSL Guys & Gals v The Kerrigans (referees – Brett Allison, Larry Scott and Wayne Nott).
6.35pm:
Desk duty – Joan O’Neill; field one – Banksia Babes & Blokes v Phoenix Two390 (referees – Clifford Toomey Jnr and Linton Grumley); field two – Win or Booze v M’Tees (referees – Peter Quirk and Scott Purcell); field three – Wilga Pelicans v TRTW (referees – Kristie Toomey, Pat Mowle and Bernard Gabbott).
