A long way down the track - tomorrow - Dubbo Senior College, as we know it now after Dubbo, South Dubbo and Delroy high schools were made into a ‘super school,’ sees the 2012 league team prepares to runs onto the field against Orange High School.

From the opening series in 1923 up until 1946 between Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst high schools, the boy’s football match was rugby union.

In 1946 that changed and the now 84-year-old Bob Ridge - who was also the school captain in 1946 - recalls the time as we looked through the photograph of the team and also Dubbo High School’s prefects list from the same year.

“This was the first year Dubbo High School played league instead of union and it was a great year for us,” Bob said.

“We had 15 games that year and won each one convincingly, including the Astley Cup game against a very strong Orange side; and Bathurst.

“But we also recorded wins over Forbes and Parkes high schools.

“Interestingly we also played together in the Dubbo second grade town competition.”

Bob Ridge said the quality of the players was emphasised when Bryan Palmer went on to play for NSW rugby union.

“John Vincent went to Sydney and played first grade rugby with Manly and Wally Norman had a very successful career in Dubbo; and Don McInnes excelled as a professional athlete,” he said.

Both Bob Ridge and Wally Norman still live in Dubbo. Bob has a game of bowls at Macquarie and playing veterans golf is a past time for Wally.

“We had a pretty good backline. Wally Norman and myself were the halves, Bryan Palmer and John Vincent were in the centres, Ken Hefferen the fullback and Max Carrett and Don McInnes on the wings,” he said.

“And in the forwards were Laurie Jackson, Bert Leary, John Palmer, John Hazell, Kevin Glover and Frank Coffey.

“We were strong all over.”

Bob Ridge also recalls that he (and a lot of other western boys) had never played football until he came to Dubbo as a 14-year-old from Bourke.

“I’d played tennis out at home but never football and was fortunate to stay with the Tourle family when I came here for school,” he said.

“Tennis was a game I played fairly well and was in the tennis team for four years.”

Dubbo High School won that 1946 Astley Cup with help from their super rugby league team, only their sixth success since taking out the first contest in 1923.

Overall Dubbo has 24 wins to its credit and Bathurst is on 22 wins .... with Orange High the most successful with 40.

The Mulvey Cup debating competition will also be held between Dubbo and Orange schools, tomorrow at 10am.

Today’s sporting events get under way with tennis at Paramount from 9.30am before the crowd goes up to Dubbo Sports World Stadium for netball at 12pm and boy’s basketball at 1.30pm. Girl’s hockey is the last sport on day one at West Dubbo starting at 3pm.

Friday’s program features athletics at Barden Park from 9.15am; rugby league at 11.30am at Victoria Park); girl’s soccer 1pm Lady Cutler Oval and finally boy’s soccer at 2.30pm, also at Lady Cutler.

The Astley Cup is already one round old with Bathurst defeating Orange in the first leg last week.

The final games will be played out in Bathurst next Wednesday and Thursday.