If the Narrabri Blue Boars are able to bring the Central North Rugby Union grand final day to Dangar Park for a second year in a row next month, they will certainly have bonus points to thank, and they picked up another crucial one on Saturday to boost their pursuit of a second-place finish on the first grade ladder.
The Blue Boars welcomed Inverell Highlanders to town for their round 13 clash and prevailed 36-19 in front of a dedicated home crowd on what was a wet, windy and chilly day.
The Narrabri men had secured the bonus point by the 24th minute when winger James Baker scored his second try of the contest and his side’s fourth of the day.
Now, if the Blue Boars are able to beat Moree away from home this Saturday, they will finish ahead of the Bulls in second place despite the fact they will have won less games than them. Narrabri’s 10 bonus points are a competition best, while Moree have only managed to secure four of their own in 2025.
Narrabri led 31-7 at the half-time break in the penultimate round on Saturday after outscoring the Highlanders five tries to one and three goals to one in the opening 40 minutes.
Morgan Jones crossed for the first try of the match in the fifth minute, then Sam Spanton went over in the 10th and Baker claimed his first in the 18th.
Matt Bradshaw converted all three of those tries to make the score 21-0, which became 21-7 soon after Inverell kicked off as Hunter Barnett converted the visitors’ first try.
Baker’s second of the game put the Blue Boars in front 26-7 in the 24th minute before skipper Will McDonnell crossed in the 33rd to make the half-time score 31-7.
Neither side troubled the scorers in the second half until the 67th minute when Linton Grumley went in for Narrabri’s sixth of the day to make it 36-7, and Inverell then scored two late tries to make the score more respectable as it finished 36-19 in the Blue Boars’ favour.
Narrabri’s coach Craig Gleeson thought his men handled the tough conditions well, just as they did the week before in a 33-20 win away from home against Pirates.
“I thought in the first half and probably for the first 20 minutes of the second half, we were really good,” Gleeson said.
“The boys’ ball handling, I thought was just outstanding, especially in those conditions.
“I think we probably kicked the ball a little bit too much to be honest, which is an easy trap to fall into in those conditions. I think we kicked a bit too much without earning the right to.
“All in all though, we were really good. Our carries were really strong and our structure is starting to fall into place. The boys stuck at the game plan really well.”
Narrabri won by forfeit in the women’s 10s and the reserve grade divisions. They are ranked first and fourth, respectively, with one round to go.
To order photos from this page click here
