The Cobar & District Rugby Union Club will mark the 40th and 20th anniversaries of their 1976 and 1996 Western Plains Rugby Premiership wins at their 2016 home game against Gulargambone (the team they beat in both grand finals) later this month.
Camels’ Old Boy Peter Payne said the club has invited the players from both the 1976 and 1996 teams to join them to celebrate the club’s two premiership successes.
In addition to being made up by many ‘iron ringer’ locals, both sides were also comprised of a number of other players who lived and worked in Cobar at the time, at the mines, as teachers or were posted here with various government agencies.
“I am having trouble finding a big percentage of them,” Payne said.
“I’m hoping that the players contact each other to assist in organising the event.”
Members of the 1976 premiership winning team were: Chris Forbes, Peter Masters, John Haskell, Derek Carter, Kel Ellicott, Dick Houghton, Chris Elder, Dick Kearins, Dennis Forbes, Greg Prince, Bill Brown, Paul Reid, Paul Evans, Bill Houghton, Bernard Warner, Ted Middleton, Kevin Mitchell, Bill Cahill and Bill Collins.
The players from the 1996 winning side were: Craig Arms, Tony Harris, Stuart Harland, Colin ‘Butch’ Eves, Greg Black, Nigel Webster, Jarrod Marsden, Tony Polack, Glen Middleton, Andrew Harland, Hayden Wills, Tony Davis, David Bowie, Mal Ellison, Jason Butler, Shane Hanns, Scott Shepherd, Mark Eaglesham, Grant Scurr and Ash Hamblin.
Following the match between the 2016 Cobar Camels and Gulargambone teams (which it is hoped the home side will win) an evening of entertainment is planned.
Payne expects that reminiscing of “the good old days” will last long into the night.
