Narrabri Blue Boars retain the Hannaford-Southwell Shield as rugby returns to Dangar Park

Narrabri Rugby Club’s milestone 60th year is off to a sensational start after the Blue Boars’ first XV won 24-12 in the 2024 Hannaford-Southwell Shield match against St Albert’s College at Dangar Park on Saturday night.

Narrabri welcomed the Armidale-based University of New England club to town in three grades, with the main game being contested under lights in memoriam of former Blue Boar Brad Hannaford and his girlfriend Felicity Southwell, who tragically died in a car accident back in 2006.

After the visitors won the women’s tens match 33-29 with a try after the bell to kick off the day in style, the Blue Boars finished strongest as they won the second grade clash 31-5 and then prevailed by 12 points in the first grade contest.

The first grade victory saw Narrabri retain the shield with their fourth win over Albies in as many years.

The match was played across three 25-minute thirds, with the Blue Boars ahead 10-0 at the first break and 17-7 at the last break before they closed out the game by outscoring Albies seven points to five in the final third.

The Blue Boars’ 2024 campaign first grade coach Craig Gleeson opted to push his starting line up for as long as possible in that game, given that it will be the only pre-season contest they play before the Central North Rugby Union campaign gets underway on Saturday, April 6. It was a good hitout for both sides, with players battling it out in the heat and pushing themselves to get quality minutes into their legs.

Narrabri’s first-time first grade coach was impressed with his side’s defensive resolve and declared that he saw some positive attributes among his playing group that a premiership push could revolve around.

“It was pretty positive all-round, I think, especially given it was only the second time that starting first grade side had a chance to have a team run together,” Gleeson said.

“There were probably three or four blokes pushing for first grade spots that were unavailable too.

“Our defence (was what Gleeson liked most). The boys stood up and the attitude and desire in defence was awesome. I think you can build your season around that; you can’t teach that.

“I pushed the first grade guys pretty hard too. I didn’t make a whole lot of interchanges because I wanted to run a bit of fatigue into them. The boys hung on really well I thought.”

The Blue Boars’ captain Will McDonnell was also proud of his side on what he acknowledged as being an important day for both clubs.

“I think that we played really well considering it was our first hitout,” McDonnell said.

“There were a lot of young players and blokes debuting who all stepped up and played really well.

“It was a really good day. Albies brought three teams and they brought a big crowd with them. It’s always good to play in front of a big crowd.

“It’s a special game and I think the tradition is growing each year, so hopefully each year we can continue it.”

The Blue Boars have lost a handful of quality players over the offseason. Greg Melton, Jacob Nichols, Toby Knight, Daniel Kahl, and Tom Nolan will all miss the 2024 campaign due to injury.

However, that has opened the door for other players to step up, and one player in particular did just that on Saturday evening as 18-year-old Miles Campbell started the contest in the number nine jersey and impressed the club’s first grade coach.

“Miles was playing his first game of senior footy at halfback and for an 18-year-old kid, he was very mature,” Gleeson said.

“Sometimes his execution wasn’t perfect, but his decision-making was really good, so it was all positive for us.

“He played two seasons in Calrossy’s first XV at nine, so he’s obviously had a very strong grounding there. But his maturity for a young man was very impressive.

“For it being his first game of senior footy, he handled it easily.”

Gleeson said that Joe Baker was a standout in both attack and defence at five-eighth and he thought that vice-captains Jack Maunder and Will Turner led well from the front, as did the returning Sam Spanton at prop.

The Blue Boars’ coach added that he could not fault any of the players’ performances and said that he was impressed with what he saw from the group as a whole.

Gleeson is now looking forward to coaching the Blue Boars in the 2024 CNRU campaign.

He has a storied history with the club and has thought about taking on a coaching role for a few years now. He joined the club as an under-19s player back in 1997 and went on to win two premierships in 2002 (first grade) and 2003 (second grade). He called time as a full-time player after the 2009 season but continued to play on and off for several seasons after that until 2014. More recently, he has played reserve grade for the Blue Boars and has also featured in old boys’ games as well.

He has enjoyed his time as the club’s first grade coach so far and is excited for what 2024 has in store, especially given the turnouts that the club has had during the pre-season.

“I can’t fault any of them,” Gleeson said of the playing group.

“Over the last two weeks, we’ve had 50 players at every training run and everyone’s attitude has been really good. Everyone’s upbeat and the vibe is really good around the club at the moment. I think if we can nurture that and keep it going, the possibilities are endless for this season.”