Top spot on the line when Boggabri travel to Werris Creek for blockbuster clash

Boggabri Kangaroos will be aiming to break a three-week hoodoo when they meet the Werris Creek Magpies in round 11 of the 2025 Group 4 Rugby League campaign at David Taylor Oval on Saturday.

The Kangaroos extended their winning streak to five matches when they outscored the North Tamworth Bears 22-14 at Jack Woolaston Oval in round 10 on Saturday, which saw the Boggabri boys climb from third into second and the Bears drop from second to fifth.

Norths were the third team in as many weeks to fall from second to fifth after it happened to the Moree Boars in round eight and the Gunnedah Bulldogs in round nine.

The constant significant shuffling of ladder positions continues to highlight just how tight and competitive the Group 4 competition is this season, and also how costly a slip-up can be with the finals just a few weeks away.

With the sides ranked third to fifth all playing home games against the bottom three teams this weekend, and all of them being within two points of Boggabri with a greater for and against difference, a loss would likely see the Kangaroos to become the fourth team in as many weeks to make the drop from second to fifth.

However, a win would see them join the Werris Creek men on 17 points, and they would move into first place on for and against difference if they were able to get the job done by more than a converted try.

The Magpies were cruising towards the minor premiership with five rounds to go, heading into round 10, but suffered a setback when they lost for the first time this season. It was a crushing defeat too as they went down 50-10 away from home at Kitchener Park against Gunnedah on Saturday.

The Bulldogs were trailing 6-0 after 20 minutes before outscoring Werris Creek 10 tries to one across the final hour of the contest.

The victory saw Gunnedah leapfrog Norths to end the weekend in fourth place, and a huge win on Sunday saw Moree Boars jump from fourth to third after they outscored Dungowan Cowboys 52-4 away from home.

There are now just four points between first place and fifth, with Werris Creek on 17 and the Bears on 13, so the minor premiership race is still wide open.

Boggabri Kangaroos’ coach Shane Rampling told The Courier that his men were well aware of the significance of this Saturday’s clash, and he declared it was an even bigger game than the Norths battle.

“We could have been in fifth spot if we lost to Norths, and we needed to win to go into outright second,” Rampling said.

“Now we’ve got Werris Creek away, and they got beat by Gunnedah on the weekend, so they are going to be up for it.

“With the other games this weekend, if we lose, we probably go to fifth, but if we win, we will be equal first. That shows how tight the competition is this year.

“It’s bigger than last week, the Creek game. We have to win to stay in the four and to still have a chance at having a crack at winning the minor premiership.

“We played really good on the weekend against Norths, so we will go to Werris Creek with a bit of confidence, and Gunnedah proved that they are beatable, so we have to go there with the right attitude, which we didn’t do last time.

“When we played them last (a 36-10 loss on home soil at Jubilee Oval in round four), that game was all about attitude. We turned up with the wrong attitude and got our pants pulled down.

“We addressed that and we’ve moved on from it. We know that when we turn up with the right attitude, we can beat anybody.”

The other first grade match last Sunday saw the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters take down Wee Waa Panthers 86-24 at Kootingal Sports Ground.

The home side outscored the Panthers 16 tries to four and 11 conversions to four in the 62-point victory, which saw them climb from seventh into sixth on the table.

The Roosters and Dungowan both have four points each, while Wee Waa are still winless at the bottom of the table with no points as they continue to chase their first win of the season.

This weekend’s round 11 games will see Werris Creek host Boggabri and Gunnedah welcome Dungowan on Saturday, before Moree welcome Kootingal-Moonbi and Norths host Wee Waa on Sunday.