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After honouring their old boys in round seven, the Mudgee Wombats will celebrate Ladies Day at The Burrow on Saturday.
The event will be made special by several factors such as an auction after the first grade game where people will have the chance to bid for the uniquely designed Ladies Day jersey.
The club will be raising money for White Ribbon Australia, a campaign designed to stop violence against women.
Mudgee’s first and second grade will host Parkes throughout the afternoon but the first game of the day is at 1pm between the Wombats’ women and Orange City – a clash that could see the Batties enter the top four.
It’s been a strong season so far for the ladies as they sit in fifth spot on the Westfund Ferguson Cup – a competition made up of 11 teams from both the Central West and West Wyalong areas.
“The majority of the team is new this year,” said team manager Rita Palm.
“There’s only a handful of girls that are playing on from last year.
Although a post-season berth would be nice, Rita’s pre-season goal for the women’s side was simple – promote the sport among women.
“We wanted to get more girls involved this season,” she said.
“The Wombats are just trying to elevate the culture and the vibe of the club up.
“old boys day was a really good atmosphere and there should be a heap of women coming to ladies day on Saturday.”
While the turnout at training hasn’t been overly consistent, the numbers on gameday have been increasingly solid.
“Last week we had 16 girls turn up,” she said.
“We have some girls come in and do a casual pay – just to play one or two games.”
Fast forward to 1.55pm on Saturday and the Mudgee Wombats second grade side, which has turned into an all-out powerhouse of late, will play Parkes.
Jeremy Cox’s men have a chance to move from third to second with a win over the fifth-placed Boards outfit and will fancy their chances after beating them earlier in the season.
The main game will see Dave Jessiman and the Wombats’ top tier side try to make a push into finals contention after losing a crucial game to CSU Bathurst last round.
Greg Horton’s side sits in fifth position, just three points adrift of Dubbo Rhinos who hold down the ever-important fourth spot.
Mudgee will need to dig deep on Saturday if it wants to flip the script on the round three score which saw Parkes trample the Batties 47-15.
First grade coach Greg Horton stressed the advantage home sides will have throughout the New Holland Agriculture Cup season, so it’s unlikely the host Wombats will be put away so convincingly this time around.