Saturday, Cobar Bactrian Zalee Mollard (with the ball) makes a run up field supported by Cobar team mate Kiara McKay. ▪ Photo contributed
On the sunbaked Gulargambone Sportsground, seven Cobar Bactrians ran on in red jumpers to play with the Western Plains team ready to give it their all on Saturday.
It wasn’t just a normal game of rugby— it was Friendships in Rugby Day, and the first taste of live tackle rugby for many of the Cobar players.
Before the dogfight that would leave both teams gasping, Sarah Pearce and Matt Tink from NSW Rugby ran the girls through a clinic that gave a chance for the Cobar, Warren, Walgett, Brewarrina and Gulargambone teammates to bond and get prepared for the game.
With a lineup featuring Cobar’s fierce Toea Malbe, a sprinter with the tenacity of a kangaroo on caffeine, and Joy Talu, who picked on the rucks like a magpie in spring, they took on the Dubbo Roos.
Bactrian Paris Capell—built like a brick outhouse—barreled through the center while Cobar team mates Jasmine Beddows and Zalee Mollard went through the opposition like they were driving a ute through an old fence; Dominica Harris, and the ever-reliable Kiara McKay stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to tackle whatever the Roos could throw their way.
Malbe thundered down the field, breaking through the defence like a bull in a china shop, igniting the crowd’s hopes.
Mollard, with sheer determination, raced down the sideline, leaving defenders in her wake and kept the crowd buzzing.
McKay, calm under pressure, held the defence, while the agile Talu covered every inch of grass, a true warrior determined to keep the Roos at bay.
Bactrian veteran Jayde George kept the team motivated from the sideline, accompanied by the best Old Boys of any club in the district.
As the whistle blew, you could feel the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.
The Roos, fierce and competitive, pushed back at every opportunity, clawing for dominance on the field.
The scoreboard would later reflect a narrow escape for the Roos, 15 to 18, but the real story was stitched together in every tackle and every sprint; it was a testament to all players’ spirit in the heat.
As they trudged off the field, exhausted but proud, every player carried the bruises of battle as badges of honour.
This is the first chapter of the Bactrians this year as they now turn their attention to the Warren Gala Day on April 5.—Mabel Peters
