Just two rounds remain in the regular seasons of Narrabri Touch’s men’s and ladies’ competitions ahead of a highly-anticipated finals series that will get underway early next month on Monday, November 6.

Monday night’s action at Cooma Oval saw the fifth round of the ladies’ graded campaign contested, as well as the third round of the men’s graded season.

Lations returned to the top of the men’s A-grade ladder after they had dropped from first place following their round two bye a week earlier.

In a rematch of the 2022 grand final, they challenged the Grumley Builders and scored an 11-7 victory over the defending champions.

Thomas Bruce scored a hat-trick for the ladder leaders, and his teammates Clifford Toomey Junior, Chris Clark and Jaylan Sharpley all managed to bag doubles, while Jamarl Zarka and Lachlan Trindall crossed once each. For the Grumley Builders, Gabe O’Connor, Harry Pattison and Jock Small all scored two tries each and Tom Dinham claimed the other.

That result saw Lations finish the round as the only men’s A-grade team to have won all of their games since the graded campaign began.

They have accumulated six points following two victories from as many games and lead fellow round three winners, Wilga Pelicans, by for and against difference.

The Pelicans have played three games to accumulate their six points, which have come from a win, a draw and a loss. Their victory on Monday was a convincing one as they downed GeeBangers 11-5.

Jess O’Neil and Aiden Butcher both scored hat-tricks in their side’s six-point victory, while Lachie Coffey went over twice and Tom Craig, Jacob Nichols and James Baker shared the other three. GeeBangers’ tries were scored by Jake Rumsby and Blake Hilderson, who both claimed doubles, and Peter Quirk.

Monday’s results saw Win Or Booze, who had the bye, drop from first to third, and the Grumley Builders fall from third to fourth, as GeeBangers remained in last place on the five-team ladder.

In the ladies’ A-grade competition, Twisted Blisters claimed the outright lead at the top of the table following a thumping 12-0 win against Bluebirds in round five.

Georgia Horne had a great day out as she crossed for four of her side’s tries, Matilda Currey continued her red-hot form with a hat-trick, Bella Cruickshank was as reliable as ever with a double, and Megan Crutcher, Taneika Cochrane and Lisa Currey all scored one each in the big win.

Twisted Blisters went into the match locked on 10 points with Specialised Quarries and Concrete, however, they were ranked second on for and against difference.

However, the ladder leaders were downed 4-1 by third-placed side SPA Redbacks, and they fell to second spot as Twisted Blisters finished the evening on 13 points and the two teams below them ended up on 11. The winless Bluebirds are last on five points.

In the Redbacks’ 4-1 victory, Emma John scored two of her side’s tries and teammates Miranda Hamilton and Tashanny Clark registered one each. The Specialised side’s lone try was claimed by Natalia McInnes.

The men’s B-grade matches were won by DTA Timber Lumberjacks and Cougars, who finished the round ranked first and second on the five-team ladder, respectively.

The Lumberjacks moved to nine points following their third win in as many matches during the graded campaign as they downed the Namoi Brothers 9-4.

Clayton Pursche and Mitch Creighton were too hot to handle for Namoi Brothers as they combined for seven of the Lumberjacks’ tries, while their teammates Dylan Armitage and Lachlann Thorn scored one each. Namoi Brothers’ Cody French bagged a double, and Jarrad Lawler and Kostah Rooney scored one each.

A win behind the Lumberjacks on six points are fellow undefeated side Cougars, who have been in scintillating form following the round one bye.

They have piled on 24 tries and only conceded six in the two games they have played during the past fortnight, their latest result being a 12-5 victory over Ballbusters.

Rodney Stanford-Lamb scored three of Cougars’ tries, Rowan Keeler, Josh Buckthought and Andrew Wallace all chipped in with two each, and the other three were shared between Pat and Kaleb Mowle and Corey Swan. Paul Bushby bagged a double for Ballbusters, and their other three tries were claimed by Matt Hall, Murray Scott and Ken Nolan.

NFC had the round three bye and slipped from second to third, while the Namoi Brothers and Ballbusters remained in fourth and fifth place.

In the ladies’ B-grade competition, ladder leaders CBRE extended their lead at the top over second-placed side Hounddogs from four points to six after they beat them 6-2 in a top-of-the-table clash.

Taylah Fogarty scored three of her side’s tries in that game, and the other three were shared between Leesa Small, Emma Cain and Jen Schwager. Hounddogs’ two tries were scored by Josie Harvey and Alex Reed.

CBRE have now won all five of their matches to sit atop the ladder on a maximum 15 points. Hounddogs and Wilga Westies are second and third, respectively, on nine points each, and Touch ‘n’ Go are fourth on seven points. The Westies joined Hounddogs on level pegging after winning their round five match against Touch ‘n’ Go 3-2.

Natasha Nott bagged a double for the Wilga Westies side in their win, and teammate Rachel Duggan scored the other. Touch ‘n’ Go’s two tries were claimed by Brooke Wright and Lily McCahon.

Fixtures and referee appointments for the sixth round of the ladies’ graded season and the fourth round of the men’s graded campaign on Monday, October 23, are as follows:

6pm:
Field one – Win or Booze v Lations (refs – Blake Hilderson and Jydon Hill); field two – NFC v Ballbusters (refs – Clayton Pursche and Patrick Mowle); field three – Bluebirds v SPA Redbacks (refs – Megan Crutcher, Abby McClure and Wayne Nott); field four – Wilga Westies v CBRE (refs – Emily McFetridge and Angela Young).

6.35pm:
Field one – GeeBangers v Grumley Builders (refs – Jonty Schwager and Clifford Toomey Junior); field two – Cougars v DTA Timber Lumberjacks (refs – Bernard Gabbott and Ken Nolan); field three – Specialised Quarries & Concrete v Twisted Blisters (refs – Kristie Toomey, Emma John and Nathan Dicks); field four – Hounddogs v Touch ‘n’ Go (refs – Mereka Gleeson and Louise Tout).

Bye – Wilga Pelicans and Namoi Brothers.

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