Kangaroos downed by the Bulldogs to settle for fourth, Boars win minor premiership

The remaining regular season games in the Group 4 Rugby League campaign were played across the weekend, with Moree Boars claiming the minor premiership without taking the field and Gunnedah Bulldogs defeating the Boggabri Kangaroos in the battle for second place.

The matches on Saturday and Sunday were the rescheduled round 13 games that were washed out a week earlier and saw the finals series games all pushed back by one week.

Boggabri Kangaroos travelled to Gunnedah for the Boyde Campbell Cup day at Kitchener Park and lost 29-10 in the first grade match and 46-0 in ladies’ league tag, either side of a 46-12 reserve grade victory.

Gunnedah’s win saw them end the weekend in second place, but despite uncertainty last week, they were never a chance of overtaking Moree at the top of the table.

Moree’s round 14 match against Wee Waa was washed out, but even though the Moree men had played their round 13 clash against North Tamworth Bears, they could not play Wee Waa on the weekend as the Panthers travelled across to Dungowan to play against the Cowboys in a round 13 game.

Following a meeting late last week, Wee Waa accepted a forfeit for the round 14 game against Moree, which meant the Boars finished with 22 points at the top of the ladder.

Gunnedah and Werris Creek were locked on 21 points as the Bulldogs claimed second spot on for and against difference, while Boggabri ended up fourth on 19 points.

Norths (17) missed out on the finals by two points, and Dungowan (6), Kootingal-Moonbi (6) and Wee Waa (0) made up the bottom three.

The Panthers were beaten 66-6 in Dungowan on Sunday to finish the year without a win, and the other first grade contest saw Werris Creek score a 60-0 away win over Kootingal-Moonbi on Saturday.

This Saturday’s major semi-final at Boughton Oval will see Moree and Gunnedah battle to earn a home grand final, and the minor semi-final at David Taylor Oval on Sunday will see Werris Creek and Boggabri play to stay alive.

Boggabri will also be in action at Werris Creek in reserve grade on Sunday when they challenge Dungowan as they look to qualify for the grand final in coach Ash Hynch’s first year at the helm. Like their first grade side, they will need to win three straight games to be crowned premiers.