Narrabri Touch’s 2024 season mixed competition finals series began on Monday night as three teams won their way through to their respective grand finals.
Just Gammin (A-grade), Win Or Booze (B-grade) and the One Hit Wonders (C-grade) will all feature on grand final night at Hogan Oval on Monday, June 17, after they won the qualifying semi-finals on Monday night.
There were three teams eliminated as well. Tradies and Ladies (A-grade), Wilga Pelicans (B-grade) and RSL Guys and Gals (C-grade) all lost in the elimination semi-finals to bow out.
The losers of the three qualifying semi-finals and the winners of the three elimination semi-finals will now face off this Monday, June 3, in the preliminary finals at Hogan Oval.
Just Gammin cruised through to the A-grade decider with a dominant 9-3 victory against Sprayerbarn Spinouts in their qualifying semi-final clash. Isaiah Cochrane continued to excel for the team that finished first on the ladder as he crossed for four tries on the night. Jaylan Sharpley bagged a double and Clifford Toomey Jr, Rya Knox and Taneika Cochrane scored one each for Just Gammin. The Spinouts’ three tries were shared between Shona McFarland, Connor Hill and Lincoln Saunders.
The A-grade elimination semi-final was a closer contest as Hammertime prevailed 5-2 against Tradies and Ladies. Hammertime duo Frazer Penberthy and Bella Cruickshank both bagged doubles for their side and teammate Mackenzie Coom chipped in with a try, while Tradies and Ladies’ two tries were scored by Miles Campbell and Natalia McInnes.
Win Or Booze’s B-grade qualifying semi-final victory was a comfortable one as they accounted for Banksia Babes and Blokes 7-3. Hamish Duncan, Jonty Schwager and Caleb McDonald all crossed twice for Win Or Booze and their side’s other try was scored by Mia Gould. Banksia Babes and Blokes’ three tries were claimed by Scott Purcell, Matt McDonnell and Blake Hilderson.
The most exciting game of the first night of the finals was the B-grade elimination semi-final between JWG Hounddogs and Wilga Pelicans. Neither side wanted to bow out of the competition and they finished all square at 5-all at full-time, which meant an extra time drop-off period was required. The JWG Hounddogs then scored the winning try to prevail 6-5. Three of the Hounddogs’ tries in normal time were scored by Ryan McFetridge, and teammates Emily McFetridge and Natalee Trow went over for the other two, while Paul Bushby bagged a double for the Wilga Pelicans and teammates Leisa Eather, Ken Nolan and Murray Scott scored their other three.
The two sides fielded four players each for two minutes of the drop-off period, and no tries were scored, so it progressed to stage two as one player from each team departed and it was three players each. The winning try was finally scored by Ryan McFetridge after a good run from dummy half by Cathy Conomos, who held the ball and then passed off to McFetridge as he was bolting down the sideline. He skipped over the dive from Nathan Dicks and outran Emily Flood to go all the way to the try line to score.
The C-grade qualifying semi-final was won convincingly by One Hit Wonders, who defeated Touch ‘n’ Go 8-2. Waldo Botha crossed for four of One Hit Wonders’ tries, Lachlan Hall bagged a double, and Matt Hall and Pat Wheeler chipped in with one each, while Ashleigh Dudman and Lennon Simmonds went over for Touch ‘n’ Go.
The C-grade elimination semi-final was a much closer game as Kerrigans edged out RSL Guys and Gals 3-2. Kerrigans’ three tries were shared between Ryan Williams, Michael Haire and Asher Kelly, and RSL Guys and Gals’ two tries were scored by Britt Young and Pat Mowle.
Fixtures and referee appointments for the preliminary finals to be played on Monday, June 3, are as follows:
6pm:
Field one – B-grade preliminary final: Banksia Babes and Blokes v JWG Hounddogs (referees – Tom Nolan, Jydon Hill and Ken Nolan).
Field two – C-grade preliminary final: Touch ‘n’ Go v Kerrigans (referees – Linton Grumley, Jock Small and Craig Gleeson).
6.35pm:
Field one – A-grade preliminary final: Sprayerbarn Spinouts v Hammertime (referees – Brendon Warnock, Nathan Dicks and Blake Hilderson).
