By NICK GUTHRIE

THE Dubbo Kangaroos' first grade side stole the headlines on Saturday with their thrilling 20-19 win over Orange City but the Roos' third grade outfit also produced one of their best performances of the year to book themselves a spot in the decider.

Major semi-final day at No. 1 Oval saw the Roos go up against minor premiers Orange City, a side which had only conceded 41 points all year, but the hosts put in an outstanding defensive effort to win 20-7.

In a spiteful clash with plenty of verbal barbs from both teams, Dean Matthews and his men kept the big City pack at bay for most of the match and a late runaway try to fullback Jeremy Smith sealed the win.

"It feels really good, we set the goal at the start of the year to make the semis so to play in a grand final is good and we're halfway to what we want now," Matthews said.

"Third grade is up and down all year so we were a bit sluggish to start with but the boys put it together in the second half and it was a good game, I wouldn't be surprised to see them (City) in a fortnight."

The loss was City's first for the year and captain Tim Barrett admitted his side were shocked by Dubbo's power while also hinting the warm conditions affected his players.

"I'm very disappointed, we turned up but obviously weren't good enough on the day," he said.

"It's a bit warmer weather so bit of a shock to the system for us and we haven't really been pushed much this season so this could have been a good thing."

Dubbo got out to an early 3-0 lead when five-eighth Craig McLean slotted a penalty but City worked their way into the game and got out to a 7-3 lead when Will Ryan fooled everyone with a dummy and crossed the line.

Dubbo's attack started to come together and flying centre Ash Widders only needed a small amount of space to break through and score out wide and McLean converted successfully to make it 10-7 at half-time.

Another McLean penalty extended the lead to 13-7 early in the second half before the match turned into an arm wrestle in the middle of the field.

Inside the final 10 minutes the impressive Colt Tairua made one of his many breaks during the game and found Smith on the inside and he raced 40 metres to plant the ball down and put the icing on the cake.

Things boiled over after the full-time whistle with plenty of push and shove while shaking hands and a claim from a Dubbo player of being headbutted is expected to be investigated by the Central West Rugby Union.

"Our defence was really good," Matthews said after the win.

"We don't really train a great deal but there's a lot of older fellas in the team and they bring a bit of experience and we've got some good backs too and it just came together today."

The Dubbo side will enjoy next weekend off while City meet local rivals Emus for the right to play at No. 1 Oval on September 14.

o DUBBO KANGAROOS 20 (Ash Widders, Jeremy Smith tries; Craig McLean 2 goals, 2 penalties) defeated ORANGE CITY 7 (Will Ryan try, Joe Alexander goal)