McCauley match-winner sees Bluebirds break Wee Waa hearts at Cook Oval

The Narrabri Rugby League Football Club ladies league tag team earned their second victory of the season on Sunday as they scored a late winner to beat the Wee Waa Panthers 14-12 away from home at Cook Oval.

The Bluebirds trailed 12-8 with just three minutes to go when Tess Redfern received a kick and made a brilliant run deep in her own half, and then Lidia McCauley followed it up a few plays later with an explosive step that saw her break the line and charge 65 metres to score between the sticks. Tashanny Clark added the extras to edge Narrabri ahead by two points, and that was the way the it remained when the bell sounded a minute later.

Earlier in the contest, Wee Waa had taken the lead in the second minute when Valerie Orcher crossed for the first try of the game and her teammate Kristie Toomey nailed the conversion to make the score 6-0.

The Bluebirds hit back in the 15th minute when McCauley scored their first of the game as the score became 6-4, but Wee Waa took a 12-4 lead into half-time after Bella Cruickshank went over in the 24th minute and Toomey kicked another conversion.

Redfern scored Narrabri’s second with about eight minutes remaining when a nice team play saw the ball move through the hands out to her and she went over in the corner.

That made the score 12-8, which became 14-12 with a minute to play when McCauley struck again and Clark kicked them into the lead.

The win saw Narrabri rise from eighth place to seventh on the nine-team ladder as they overtook Wee Waa. The Bluebirds are now on six points following two wins, a bye and six losses so far this year, and Wee Waa are on five points following a win, a washout, a bye and six losses. The Boggabri Kangaroos, who went down 58-0 away from home against Dungowan on Saturday, are last with four points following a win, a bye and seven losses in 2024.

Narrabri Bluebirds’ coach Bobby Price told The Courier he was proud of his side for getting the job done and said that he thought they were quite impressive in patches.

“It was so awesome for the girls to get that win,” Price said.

“They all turn up every week for training and they put in. It was really satisfying to get that win and I think they’re feeling very grateful for it.

“The passion shone through, especially from our side. There was a lot of excitement there to play against Wee Waa in the local derby.

“In patches we played well. The ball handling was a lot better this week and I feel the girls defended really well in periods. Wee Waa had some ball there on our line and we defended well on our line for about four or five minutes.

“I think both teams could do with a little improvement. Wee Waa were good in periods and we were good in periods, but we both made mistakes at crucial times.

“At half-time, I changed a few things up and talked to a few individuals about how they could straighten their games up. We wanted to get a roll on and turn Wee Waa around and get them on the back foot, then get our speedsters away off the back of some quick play-the-ball.

“The first half of the second half was tough going for both teams. They sorted each other out in the first half, then in the second half they got in the grind trying to score points and trying to find openings through the middle.

“We held off their attack and got on the back of good field position and offloads, shifting the ball through the hands that led to Tess’ try, which was good to see.

“Then after a Wee Waa kick back to Tess, she got the ball and took off and made a good run, then after a couple of plays, Lidia took off and scored the winning try. She ran about 65 metres. It definitely started in our own half.”

For Price, the trip to Cook Oval was a significant one for him in more ways than one. The Bluebirds coach was born and raised in Wee Waa and played all of his footy for the Panthers.

“It was very special to go back home again. I still have a lot of friends and family out there,” Price said.

The Bluebirds are back at home this Saturday when they host Kootingal-Moonbi at Collins Park. Those two sides have already met once this year in round one when Narrabri lost 64-4, and they are now looking to produce an improved performance against the side sitting at the top of the table.

“Across the back half of the season, I want to see us use the ball more,” Price said.

“We need to hone in on our skills and put some more points on the board.

“I want to see us be competitive with all the other teams in the competition like I know we can be.”