The Cobar Roosters First Graders played their Round 13 Christie and Hood Castlereagh League match at Coolah on Saturday in soggy and muddy conditions.
The Coolah Roos held off a formidable challenge for the Boronia Cup from the Roosters to win the blockbuster match 18-12 on a heavy track at Bowen Oval.
Cobar’s points came from two tries to Nathan McAndrew with Thomas Plater converting both.
Co-captain/coach Plater said the conditions on Saturday at Coolah were less than ideal for football.
“It was a very wet day and the field was quite torn up by the time we got to it,” Plater said.
(The Under 18s and League Tag matches were played prior to First Grade.)
“It definitely had an impact on ball handling and our game plans.”
“The match started well with Nathan McAndrew scoring the first of his two tries very early on.
“I can’t fault our defensive effort,” Plater said.
“The boys just kept turning up for the whole 80 minutes.
“Ultimately, it was our handling errors that cost us the game.
“It didn’t feel like we were beaten, but more so that we didn’t give ourselves the opportunity to win,” Plater said.
“We are confident that we can get the job done against them next time but all focus is now on beating Gilgandra this weekend.
“We need to ensure we do that to remain in second spot and have a home semi in the first week of the finals.”
Plater earned his team’s Best & Fairest three points with co-captain/coach Loma Atuau collecting two points and one point went to McAndrew.
The team named Atuau as their Players’ Player.
Coolah survived Saturday’ clash to retain the silverware with the victory not only meaning that Coolah remain undefeated in season 2024, but it also assured them of the Minor Premiership title and subsequently the hosting rights to the major semi final.
While Coolah have already stitched up the top spot on the ladder, the final pecking order of the top five is yet to be decided.
Cobar’s loss to Coolah and Narromine’s
28-22 win over the Gulgong Terriers on Saturday means the Jets have now drawn equal with Cobar on the competition ladder.
Both clubs have 33 points meaning that the results of their games this week in the final round of the competition will determine who finishes second and who finishes third.
Cobar will take on 6th placed Gilgandra at Tom Knight Memorial Oval and Narromine will play 8th placed Baradine.
