THE best two teams in the regular season will battle for a grand final spot this Sunday after Dubbo CYMS beat local rivals Dubbo Macquarie in their qualifying final at Apex Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Fishies scored six tries in their 28-16 win over the Raiders, setting up a mouth-watering clash with minor premiers Forbes in a game that will determine the favourites for this year's under-18s crown.
"I was pretty happy with how we played for most of the game but we had a couple of lapses there in the second half that let Macquarie back into it," CYMS coach Wayne Sing said.
"We were able to settle back down and go and win but we won't be able to do that against Forbes next week because they will make us pay."
Macquarie opened the scoring on Saturday through fullback Harry van Dartel, however three quick tries to CYMS pushed them out to a 16-6 lead at half-time.
They extended their buffer to 14 points just two minutes into the second half when winger Nick Karydis scored an amazing try in the corner but at that point the match was halted while ambulance officers treated Macquarie's Matthew West, who was injured in the first half.
Upon the resumption of play the Raiders launched a spirited comeback, scoring through Rodney Boney before van Dartel bagged his second to bring the score back to 20-16 in favour of CYMS.
A pair of late tries sealed the deal for the Fishies, with Sing full of praise for his big and mobile forward pack.
"Semi-finals are won in the forwards and I thought we won that battle," he said.
"Kaide Ellis, Jake Hall and Ben Conroy went forward all game for us, and every time they got the ball they were making good metres and dragging defenders with them.
"You get sick of having big blokes running at you and I think we were able to wear Macquarie down a bit and that gave our backs room to move and they were able to get the glory and score the tries."
Macquarie will now face a sudden-death clash with Nyngan this weekend after the Tigers beat Narromine 20-16 in Sunday's elimination final at Larkin Oval.
o DUBBO CYMS 28 (Tim Phillips 2, Jesse Dunlop, Blake Smith, Nick Karydis, Marshall Sing tries; Hewett Haycock 2 goals) def DUBBO MACQUARIE 16 (Harry van Dartel 2, Rodney Boney tries; Hayden Kemper 2 goals)