Two Dubbo sides are finals bound in the MAAS Western Youth League after the weekend provided a slew of points for the top three sides in the northern pool competition.
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Dubbo CYMS and Wellington Cowboys battled it out to a 32-all draw in the final regular round after the Cowboys opened up an early scoring lead with an attacking onslaught through the first two quarters.
A late fightback, and some spirited attempts at the try-line from Zac Williams, Charlie Hollman and Will Malloy saw the home side claw back the lead in a frantic and urgent final quarter.
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It was Malloy who scored the final try and - with some assistance from the extras added by Braye Porter - brought the score level in the game's final moments.
While his team had lagged behind in scoring, facing the wrong side of a 20 - 6 scoreline at half time, Malloy said he was proud of his side's effort in sparking a comeback.
"We were a bit slack in that first half, our defence just wasn't where we expected it to be, but we showed a lot of willpower to get back at them in that second half," Malloy said.
"There wasn't much different, we just tried to get in, work hard together and tried to get the win, didn't happen, sadly, but it's better than another loss."
The draw puts CYMS in second place to the Macquarie Raiders heading into the finals, with Wellington finishing in third on for and against totals.
"We need to get back to training and work hard on those improvements, but I believe we'll be able to win in this competition," Molloy said of his side's chances.
That confidence will be needed if they're to match Macquarie's enthusiasm, with the Jim Kelly coached outfit turning in another strong performance against a struggling Mudgee Dragons side to provide a 32 - 0 scoreline headed into the semi-finals.
The Raiders shone in defence, but Kelly still believes his side is capable of more and wants to see it on-field after seeing glimpses this year.
"They've got to play some real footy now, but we're really excited about finals," Kelly said.
"In the second quarter last week against Wellington, we scored eighteen points in fifteen minutes and played unbelievable football, if we can put two or three of those quarters together, I'd be confident of beating anyone in front of us."
The competition expands for the three top sides on the weekend, with all of them booking spots in the finals and set to contend with challenges from the other conferences in the league.
Macquarie will stay at home to take on the Parkes Spacemen at 2pm at Apex Oval on Sunday, while both Dubbo CYMS and the Wellington Cowboys will head to Orange.
The Cowboys will meet Bathurst St Pat's in the first game of the day at 12pm, while Orange's CYMS side will meet Dubbo's at 2pm.
The other game, played at 12pm at Apex, will feature Forbes and the Hawks.
Kelly expects Forbes will be the team that will set the benchmark.
"We think we can hold our own, for my money Forbes will be the side to beat, but we haven't had a close look at some of the other teams," Kelly said.
"Usually in the semi-final, you've got some idea of who you're up against and you know what to expect, we haven't seen these teams play as proper sides this year, so we'll prepare the best we can."
MAAS GROUP WESTERN YOUTH LEAGUE
Northern Pool
Round 8
DUBBO CYMS 32 drew with WELLINGTON COWBOYS 32
MACQUARIE RAIDERS 32 defeated MUDGEE DRAGONS 0
Southern Pool
Round 8
FORBES MAGPIES 16 defeated COWRA MAGPIES 16
PARKES SPACEMEN drew with CANOWINDRA TIGERS - match abandoned
Eastern Pool
Round 10
BATHURST ST PAT'S 28 defeated LITHGOW WORKIES 16
ORANGE HAWKS defeated BATHURST PANTHERS via forfeit
ORANGE CYMS: Bye
Quarter-final draw
Sunday, September 13
Wade Park, Orange
BATHURST ST PAT'S v WELLINGTON COWBOYS
ORANGE CYMS v DUBBO CYMS
Apex Oval, Dubbo
FORBES MAGPIES v ORANGE HAWKS
MACQUARIE RAIDERS v PARKES SPACEMEN