Finals loom for Narrabri Touch’s 2023 campaign

Narrabri Touch Inc’s 2023 campaign season two ladies’ competition points ladders are set in stone and the men’s teams have one more round of games remaining before the finals series get underway on Monday, November 6.

In the sixth round of the ladies’ graded competitions at Cooma Oval on Monday, Twisted Blisters wrapped up top spot on the A-grade ladder while CBRE remained undefeated in B-grade, having already secured first place heading into the final round.

Twisted Blisters entered the evening leading the way in A-grade on 13 points, with Specialised Quarries and Concrete and the SPA Redbacks both just one win back on 11.

The ladder leaders met Specialised Quarries and Concrete and prevailed 7-4 to ensure they could not be overtaken, while the Redbacks booked the other major semi-final spot as they downed fourth-placed Bluebirds 7-1.

Twisted Blisters duo Matilda Currey and Georgia Horne bagged doubles for their side, while teammates Bella Cruickshank, Megan Crutcher and Emily Hartnett claimed a try each.

Two of Specialised Quarries and Concrete’s four tries were claimed by Natalia McInnes, and the other two were scored by Toni Gale and Angie Knox.

In the other ladies’ A-grade match, Emma John scored a hat-trick for the SPA Redbacks in their big win, while Miranda Hamilton crossed twice and Shona McFarland and Tianne Parker went over once each.

The Bluebirds’ lone try was scored by Kristie Toomey.

The four ladies’ B-grade competition ladder positions stayed unchanged after the round six games, with CBRE, Hounddogs, Wilga Westies and Touch ‘n’ Go finishing ranked first to fourth, respectively.

CBRE scored their sixth victory in as many graded matches when they edged out the Westies 2-1 to finish on a maximum 18 points, while Hounddogs also prevailed by a point as they won 4-3 against Touch ‘n’ Go to clinch second spot, three wins behind the ladder leaders on 12 points.

CBRE duo Grace Farrer and Mereka Gleeson claimed their team’s two tries during their narrow win, and Tanya Nolan scored for the Westies.

In the other game, Alex Reed crossed twice for Hounddogs and teammates Josie Harvey and Carly Baxter scored a try each, while Regan Dodd went in twice for Touch ‘n’ Go and Brooke Wright chipped in with their other try.

The eight ladies’ teams will line up at Cooma Oval this Monday, October 30, when they play in friendly games to remain sharp ahead of the coming finals series.

The men’s A-grade ladder leaders Lations continued their winning ways on Monday with a crushing 11-3 win against Win Or Booze to move to nine points and all but seal first place with one round to go.

Their 2022 grand final opponents, Grumley Builders, remain just one win behind them on seven points as the defending champions rose from fourth to second with a forfeit victory against GeeBangers.

Even if Lations lose in round five and the Grumley Builders win, though, it would be unlikely that they switch spots on the ladder as Lations’ for and against difference is 14 greater than the Grumley Builders’.

Wilga Pelicans had the bye in round four and dropped from second to third, while Win Or Booze fell from third to fourth following their loss.

Both of those teams are now a point behind Grumley Builders on six.

In last place following their forfeit loss are GeeBangers, who have a bye in the last round of the regular season and can no longer finish any higher than fifth spot.

Two players scored hat-tricks for Lations in their dominant eight-try victory against Win Or Booze on Monday, with Clifford Toomey Junior and Isaiah Cochrane both crossing three times each.

Teammates Axel Currey, Thomas Bruce and Jaylan Sharpley chipped in with a try each, and Win Or Booze’s three tries were shared between Keegan Richardson, Jonty Schwager and Sam Carberry.

The men’s B-grade competition matches on Monday saw Ballbusters down NFC 8-2 and DTA Lumberjacks defeat Cougars 11-9.

There was only one change to the ladder following those games, which saw Namoi Brothers drop from fourth to fifth as they sat out with the bye and were overtaken by Ballbusters, who rose from fifth to fourth.

DTA Timber Lumberjacks, Cougars and NFC remained ranked first to third, respectively.

In the Lumberjacks’ high-scoringwin over Cougars, 14 players across the two teams scored at least one try.

Clayton Pursche went over for four of the Lumberjacks’ 11, while Mitch Creighton and Matt McDonnell both bagged doubles and Rodney Dunlop, Scott Purcell and Cooper Brayshaw claimed one each.

Corey Swan scored two for Cougars, and the side’s other seven tries were shared between Steven Rees, Kaleb and Pat Mowle, Josh Buckthought, Rodney Stanford-Lamb, Rowan Keeler and Jeffrey Harvey.

In the other game, Matt Hall scored a hat-trick for Ballbusters, Aaron Stoltenberg bagged a double and Paul Bushby, Murray Scott and Connor Parkes all went over for a try each.

NFC’s two tries were claimed by Edward Bennett and Ryan Williams.

Fixtures and referee appointments for round five of the men’s graded competitions and the ladies’ friendly games this week are as follows:

6pm:

Field one – Twisted Blisters v SPA Redbacks (referees – Lidia McCauley and Cassidy Staines).

Field two – CBRE v Touch ‘n’ Go (referees – Luci Coffey and Louise Tout).

Field three – Grumley Builders v Win Or Booze (referees – Clifford Toomey Junior and Brendon Warnock).

Field four – Cougars v NFC (referees – Corey Dixon and Scott Rickard).

6.35pm:

Field one – Specialised Quarries and Concrete v Bluebirds (referees – Cathy Conomos and Tianne Parker).

Field two – Hounddogs v Wilga Westies (referees – Georgia Brennan and Emma McDonnell).

Field three – Wilga Pelicans v Lations (referees – Linton Grumley and Jonty Schwager).

Field four – Ballbusters v Namoi Brothers (referees – Steven Rees and Danny Laws).

Bye – Gee Bangers and DTA Timber Lumberjacks.