Gleeson full of pride despite Blue Boars’ third straight loss

Narrabri Rugby Club’s first grade head coach Craig Gleeson was full of pride at full-time in Gunnedah on Saturday afternoon despite the Blue Boars suffering their third loss in as many games.

An injury ravaged Narrabri side travelled to take on the Red Devils in round nine of the 2025 Central North Rugby Union campaign without an abundance of players, including the absent Josh Schwager, and Joe Baker, Jake Rumsby, Will Turner, Linton Grumley, Todd Nichols, Nick Tomlinson, Sam Carberry and Toby Knight, who are all out injured.

They also lost halfback Charlie Radford and inside centre Jock Small to injuries during the contest.

The hosts won the match 35-26, but Gleeson told The Courier he was proud of the way his men battled right until the end, exemplified by them scoring the last two tries to earn a bonus point.

“I was really happy with the boys’ performance all day, to be honest,” Gleeson said.

“The scoreline doesn’t really reflect it, but I thought our effort was really good this week.

“The last 10 to 15 minutes where we put two tries on them reflected that. Putting in efforts like that at the end of the game, I think showed where our fitness is at and the determination of these boys.

“By that stage, we had two young men out there, aged 16 and 17, who had played since towards the end of the first half and had also played a game of reserve grade. They were in pretty key positions, and we were still putting on points at the end of the game, so I thought it was a great effort.

“Nick Coffey went on at halfback after about 35 minutes when Charlie Radford got injured, and Kyal Seymour went on with a few minutes to go in the first half when Jock Small got injured. Those boys put in two credible performances for young fellas.

“I can’t fault any of the boys at the moment, especially there on Saturday. I was disappointed with some of the effort the week before at home against Quirindi though, but that wasn’t there in Gunnedah at all.

“We didn’t have a lot of ball in the first half (at Gunnedah), and that wasn’t really due to our errors, it was just the way the game was flowing.

“Down 14-0, I thought we’d been quite good, and I spoke to the boys at half-time when we were down 21-7 and said that I thought that really flattered Gunnedah. It didn’t reflect how much effort we’d put in in defence.

“To only go down by nine points in the end, it’s something we can build on over the next couple of weeks before we head into Pirates and the last two games of the season.”

Narrabri and Gunnedah were both up for the challenge defensively during the first quarter of the contest on Saturday as it remained 0-0 after 20 minutes.

The Red Devils finally cracked the Blue Boars’ line in the 22nd minute when the hosts won a scrum against the feed on the halfway line and outside centre Cameron Mitchell charged 30 metres upfield before Lachy Mack made the most of the field position as he powered through Narrabri’s defence to score from close range.

Adrian Burl slotted the conversion to put the Red Devils ahead 7-0, which then became 14-0 when Burl converted a Asivorosi Turagalev try three minutes later after Emori Waqavulagi had carved up the Narrabri defence and set up his winger for their second try.

There were only 10 minutes left to play in the first half when the Blue Boars’ club captain Sam Spanton produced a piece of magic to get the visitors on the board. The prop broke the line when he powered his way through the defence on the halfway line, and he charged away before putting a kick in behind that Radford got to first.

Small added the extras before he and Radford both left the field with injuries before half-time, and Narrabri went into the break down 21-7 after Burl converted his own try in the 34th minute.

Gunnedah secured their bonus point and took a 21-point lead through a penalty try just seven minutes into the second stanza, but Narrabri hit back off the back of another Spanton line break two minutes later when Morgan Jones dived over to score and Jake Packer converted the try to make it 28-14.

Gunnedah scored a final try through their halfback that Burl converted in the 58th minute to go ahead 35-14, but Narrabri won the last 20 minutes 12 points to nothing as Will McDonnell and Jake Packer scored a try each, one of which Packer converted to make the final score 35-26.

There were still three-and-a-half minutes left to play when Packer converted his own try but a miracle comeback would have to wait until another week for Gleeson’s men.

Narrabri Blue Boars now have two consecutive weekends off with byes in the first grade comp, which Gleeson said had come at the perfect time as it gave his team a chance to get some players back on deck before they play their last three games of the regular season.

The side is currently ranked fourth on the six-team ladder, and Gleeson has labelled a top-two finish as their goal as the defending champs look to host another home grand final at Dangar Park.

Meanwhile, the Blue Boars were victorious in the other two games in Gunnedah as they took down the Red Devils 32-10 in the reserve grade competition and 47-24 in the women’s 10s.

The reserve grade victory saw Narrabri finish the weekend a point outside the top four in fifth place with five rounds remaining.

The women’s team are undefeated and on top of the table.