A flurry of points to the Gilgandra Panthers in the opening minutes of their Boronia Cup game at Dunedoo against the Swans proved to be the final difference between the two sides.
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The Panthers scored at more than a point a minute to establish an 18-nil lead with just 15 minutes of the match elapsed.
As it turned out, the flair shown by the Panthers in attack during that opening period not only proved to be the difference on the scoreboard at the end, but also provided the majority of the entertainment.
After the visitor's initial onslaught, the game turned in to an arm wrestle and the 18-nil score line was carried through to the half-time break after which the Swan's faithful were given some cause for hope of a resurgence.
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Swans fullback, Will Wood, scored early after the resumption of play but the joy was short lived when the Panthers went on to claim another two tries, one converted, to take them out to 28 points.
The Swans however did score another converted try late in proceedings to make the final score 28-10, the damage inflicted by the Panthers in the opening stages of the game proving to be the final difference between the two sides.
The win by Gilgandra sets up a blockbuster Boronia Cup game against the Cobar Roosters in Gilgandra next Saturday.
The Roosters avenged their loss to the Gulgong earlier in the season with a hard-fought win over the Terriers at Cobar, having to come from behind to claim the competition points with a 24-16 victory.
At one stage, the visitors had the home side on the back foot, trailing 10-nil, before the Roosters slowly worked their way back into the game with once again, the 2021 Castlereagh League Player Of The Year, Thomas Plater, playing a major role in the victory.
The win by Cobar sees them retain their first place on the competition ladder.
On the league tag front, the Gilgandra Pink Panthers scored a major upset when they downed the Dunedoo Swannettes 28- 22 at Dunedoo last Saturday, throwing the competition wide open.
Meanwhile, Gulgong and Narromine retained their positions in the top four with wins over Cobar and Binnaway, respectively.
Apart from the big Boronia Cup clash in Gilgandra this Saturday, two local derbies will feature in round 11 of the Christie and Hood Castlereagh League competition with southern neighbours Gulgong and Dunedoo playing at Gulgong's Billy Dunn Oval.
A northern derby between Coonamble and Baradine will take place in Coonamble/
Christie and Hood Castlereagh League round 10 scores:
League tag:
- Narromine 22 (Logan MacKenna-Maidens 2, Abby Mitchell, Lily Spackman, Kelsea Phillips tries, Spackman goal) defeated Binnaway 4 (Lila Strong try).
- Gulgong 22 (Emily Kirk 2, Taylor Pennell, Melanie Ballard, Mel Robinson tries, Robinson goal) defeated Cobar 8 (Aisha Schofield, Brianna Watson tries)
- Gilgandra 28 (Shian Chatfield 2, Talitha Chatfield 2, Mab Fuller tries, Talitha Chatfield 4 goals) defeated Dunedoo 22 (Brianna Smith 2, Alexis Gallagher, Allannah Stoddart, Mia Gallagher tries, Mia Gallagher goal)
Rugby league:
- Cobar 24 (Nathan McAndrew 2, Thomas Plater 2, Jack Brown tries, Plater 2 goals) defeated Gulgong 16 (Ethan Pegus 2, David Morrison tries, James Morrison 2 goals).
- Gilgandra 28 (Hayden Smith 2, David Smith 2, Blake Frost tries, David Smith 4 goals) defeated Dunedoo 10 (Will Wood, Luke Stanton tries, Mitch O'Connor goal)
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