Narrabri Rugby Club’s women’s tens side claims maiden CNRU minor premiership

Narrabri Rugby Club’s women’s team were crowned the minor premiers of Central North Rugby Union’s tens competition for the first time ever on Saturday when they prevailed 33-24 away from home in a top-of-the-table clash against Gunnedah.

A thrilling battle unfolded for first place throughout the entire 18-round campaign between the two sides, and it was the Blue Boars that got the job done in the final round to finish on 85 competition points, five clear of Gunnedah.

Narrabri went into the round 18 clash on top of the ladder, but the Red Devils would have claimed first place if they had prevailed on home soil.

The visitors were far too good, though, outscoring the hosts five tries to four and four conversions to two in an entertaining match between the two premiership hopefuls, who will now meet again in the qualifying final in Tamworth on Saturday, September 2, after Gunnedah placed second.

The Blue Boars’ two men’s sides both qualified for the finals as well, with first grade placing fourth and second grade finishing third, and they will now compete in the elimination finals of their respective competitions in Moree this Saturday.

The winners of the elimination final contests will meet the losers of the qualifying finals in the preliminary finals on Saturday, September 9, and the grand finals will then be played on Saturday, September 16, between the winners of the qualifying finals and the preliminary finals.

The 2023 campaign has been quite a memorable one for Narrabri Rugby Club’s women’s side. The Blue Boars won 13 of their 14 games, with their only loss coming at home against Gunnedah back in round nine. They only went down by three points that day after the Red Devils scored a late winning try.

Narrabri finished the regular season with a remarkable points difference of 540, and that would have been even greater had three of their wins not come via forfeits.

Cassidy Morley and Toni Gale both bagged doubles in Saturday’s victory and their teammate Esta Kalatzis also went over for a try. Those braces continued remarkable runs for the Blue Boars’ two leading try-scorers, with Morley finishing the season with 17 five-pointers and Gale ending up just one behind on 16.

Narrabri Rugby Club’s president and women’s tens team co-coach Mick Coffey told The Courier that he could not be any prouder of his side.

“I’m extremely proud of these girls,” Coffey said.

“We had a really tough off-season with the passing of Will (the late Will Guest, the team’s former coach), and that made pre-season very different to what it would have been otherwise.

“This year, we’ve had a real focus on winning the competition, and we went a long way towards that on Saturday when we wrapped up the minor premiership.

“We’ve had different challenges at different periods this year.

“At the start of the year, we had good numbers, but we also had a fair bit of inexperience too, with a few girls brand new to rugby. I’ve seen other teams give those players minimal time, and then when the time comes when you need them, they don’t have the experience. But we’ve made sure that everyone was developing. The most improved award this year, well, there are plenty of candidates. A lot of the girls have come a long way.

“We lost some quality players too, which says a lot about the group. When you lose a Wallaroo (Kate Brown) and two girls who are now playing for NSW (Martha Harvey and Brooke McKinnon), I’m pretty sure everyone around the zone would have thought, ‘that’s Narrabri done’, but we proved anything but.

“I said to the girls that I wanted them to relish the moment and soak it in. It’s the first piece of silverware in our cupboard from the women’s comp, so they should be really proud and enjoy it.”

Coffey was pleased that his side overcame a few nervous moments throughout the contest during what was a see-sawing affair, and he said that the Blue Boars had better rugby in them come finals time.

The Narrabri Blue Boars president also commended his women’s team co-coach and the side’s co-captain, Peta Cox, who he described as an inspirational leader and someone who had helped him become a much better coach and gain a greater understanding of the game.

The other round 18 results saw Scone demolish Inverell 62-12 to climb into fourth place over Moree as the Bulls went down 41-15 away from home against Barraba and dropped to fifth.

Scone will now challenge third-placed Pirates in the elimination final this Saturday. The winner of that match will meet the loser of the qualifying final game between the Blue Boars and Gunnedah on Saturday, September 2, in the preliminary final on Saturday, September 9.