Narrow wins for Gilgandra, Narromine and Dunedoo on the weekend showcased the intense nature of the battle for Castlereagh League finals places this season.
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Even the narrowest of losses can have a large impact in terms of positions on the competition ladder and there was changes again after Saturday's result.
Both Gulgong and Coonamble are testimony to this, with four-point losses to Gilgandra and Narromine respectively, seeing them now sitting just outside the top four.
Both the Terriers and the Bears have been leapfrogged on the table by the Dunedoo Swans, who followed a win over Coonamble by working hard to overcome the Baradine Magpies and record an important 26-18 win away from home.
Playing at Gilgandra for the Boronia Cup, the Gulgong Terriers just fell short in a match which swung back and fourth.
The Panthers had shot out to an early 6-0 lead courtesy of a converted try to their lock Brandon Hammond, who speared over from close range in the fifth minute.
Six minutes later it was to be his opposite, James Morrison, who touched down in similar fashion to level it up.
On the back of some good field position afforded by a number of penalties given away by Gulgong, Gilgandra centre George Alchin benefited from some slick ball movement and was able to crash his way over to help make the score 12-6.
In the tit-for-tat game, Gulgong centre Logan Ruming finished off a passing rush in the final minute before the break.
The Terriers then took the lead for the first time shortly after the break when fullback Ethan Pegus, a standout on the day for the visitors, scored and with the conversion being successful Gulgong led by six.
That lead was however short-lived as Gilgandra's five eighth, David Smith, latched on to an intercept on the halfway line and sprinted away to touch down under the posts and help lock it up at 18-all.
Both teams were then called upon to defend grimly at times and it wasn't until an awkward kick was allowed to bounce and somehow Alchin was able to come up with possession and shrug off a couple of defenders in a 15-metre run to the line to make it 22-18 with seven minutes remaining.
This was to be the final score after what was a tense finish.
At Coonamble, the Bears suffered a 24-20 loss to the Narromine Jets after both sides had scored four tries.
The defeats for the Terriers and Bears sets up an epic encounter between the two clubs at Gulgong on Saturday.
Both sides currently sit equal fifth on the ladder with 28 competition points, just one point adrift of Dunedoo.
The last time the two teams met it was an 18-all draw and apart from that result if statistics are anything to go by there is very little between the two sides with both of them having lost three games by six points or less, plus each has lost one game by eight and one game by ten points.
The only minor difference is the for and against points where Coonamble holds a slight advantage having a points differential of +48 as opposed to Gulgong's +38.
Both teams will be desperate for the win and hoping that Cobar gets over the top of Dunedoo at Dunedoo in another game that has major bearing on the composition of the top four.
The Swans have only lost one game at home this year, that being to Gilgandra in round 10, but they will need to be at their best against the Roosters who are currently the team to beat.
The remaining game will see Narromine at home to Baradine, with the Jets needing a win to retain third place on the ladder.
The league tag game at Cale Oval will feature first against second, with the home side out to bounce back from what was a big 30-10 loss to Coonamble last Saturday.
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