Narrabri Touch will host a highly-anticipated season two grand final evening at Dangar Park this Sunday as eight teams get set to line up in deciders at the home of the Narrabri Blue Boars.
The four preliminary finals were contested at Cooma Oval earlier this week and the winners of those games joined the victorious major semi-final teams in Sunday’s grand finale.
Many’s Contractors (A-grade ladies), Gee Bangers (A-grade men), Hounddogs (B-grade ladies) and Cougars (B-grade men) were all victorious on Monday to earn their places alongside Twisted Blisters (A-grade ladies), Grumley Builders (A-grade men), Golfie Gobblers (B-grade ladies) and The Pelicans (B-grade men).
The A-grade ladies’ preliminary final on Monday evening saw Many’s Contractors score a comfortable 5-1 victory against Specialised Civil. Lidia McCauley and Rya Knox both bagged doubles for the winning side and their teammate Kaitlyn Armitage crossed once, and Jessie Magner went over for Specialised Civil’s lone try.
Hounddogs scored an even bigger win in the B-grade ladies’ preliminary final as they cruised past Touch n Go 12-1. Maya Watson and Emily Colless combined for half of their side’s tries as they both finished the match with hat-tricks, while Jess McFetridge and Carly Baxter both bagged doubles and Shay Cloke and Zoe Conomos went in once each. Touch n Go’s last try of the season was claimed by Caitlin Evans.
The two men’s matches were closer contests as two points separated the preliminary finalists.
Gee Bangers became the only team to qualify for Sunday’s grand final event from fourth place when they outscored Win Or Booze 6-4. Peter Quirk grounded twice for the Gee Bangers and his side’s other four tries were shared between Blake Hilderson, Blake Brown, Hayden Bell and Miles Campbell. Sam Carberry scored two of Win Or Booze’s four tries and Hamish Duncan and Jonty Schwager registered the other two.
The other men’s match was also won by a 6-4 scoreline as Cougars got the job done against DTA Lumberjacks. Kaylan Murray crossed twice for Cougars and Kurt Wallace, Jarrad Lawler, Andrew Wallace and Ed Currall combined for their other four, while Cooper Brayshaw bagged a double for the Lumberjacks and his teammates Scott Purcell and Clayton Pursche scored the other two.
Three of the four grand final games on Sunday will be top-of-the-table clashes as the teams ranked first and second in the A-grade ladies’, B-grade ladies’ and B-grade men’s comps all qualified for their respective deciders, while the A-grade men’s decider will be a first-versus-fourth encounter.
The A-grade men’s minor premiers Grumley Builders enter grand final day with form on their side following two wins against Gee Bangers in their only two encounters this season. Grumley Builders won their first game of the year 9-3 back in August in round two of the ungraded campaign after the opening round of the season was washed out, and then beat Gee Bangers again 7-1 in the third round of the graded competition in October.
The A-grade ladies’ finalists Twisted Blisters and Many’s Contractors have also met twice this season. Their round three match back in August was washed out, and when they met in round three of the graded campaign last month, it was Twisted Blisters that prevailed 6-2. Twisted Blisters then made it two from two earlier this month when they downed Many’s Contractors 7-1 in the major semi-final.
The B-grade men’s finalists have met three times and The Pelicans got the better of Cougars on three occasions. The Pelicans got up 9-3 during their first encounter in round four back in August before Cougars edged them out 6-5 in the fifth round of the graded campaign, but The Pelicans bounced back in style as they beat Cougars 6-4 in the major semi-final.
The B-grade ladies’ finalists have also met three times this season, and not much has split them as the Golfie Gobblers prevailed 2-1 in round two of the ungraded campaign and again most recently in the major semi-final after their second encounter was won 4-2 by Hounddogs in round two of the graded season.
All of that head-to-head history will mean very little come Sunday though as the eight teams get one chance to be crowned Narrabri Touch’s season two champions of their respective divisions.
Some of Narrabri’s best junior touch talent will also be on display, with two teams of junior touch players lining up for an exhibition match.
The grand final evening will get underway from 5pm at Dangar Park on Sunday. Fixtures and referee appointments are as follows:
5pm: B-grade ladies’ grand final – Golfie Gobblers v Hounddogs (referees – Lidia McCauley, Mark Chantachak and Cathy Conomos.)
5.35pm: B-grade men’s grand final – The Pelicans v Cougars (referees – Mark Chantachak, Linton Grumley and Bernard Gabbott).
6.10pm: Junior game.
6.45pm: A-grade ladies’ grand final – Twisted Blisters v Many’s Contractors (referees – Peter Quirk, Kristie Toomey and Tom Nolan).
7.20pm: A-grade men’s grand final – Grumley Builders v Gee Bangers (referees – Nathan Dicks, Craig Gleeson and Brendan Warnock).
7.45pm: Novelty relay.
