9am: Well that's it from me this morning, hopefully the last couple of hours has been enlightening for you all. Tune back into the Grill on Monday when we do it all again for another week. Have a great weekend everyone and remember to check back into the websites or Facebook pages for any breaking news over the next couple of days.
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8.50am: It's almost the end of the Grill for another day but it's Friday morning and almost the weekend so you could probably do with a laugh.
To help out here's a clip of a pug achieving nothing but an epic fail when attempting to jump over a log. Enjoy!
8.45am: If you're a seafood fan and have some free time this Saturday then it might be worth checking out the Hebel P and C Seafood Night. It will be held on Saturday night from 6.30pm (QLD time) at the Hebel Hall. Adults are $50 and children are $1 per year/age. Bookings are essential so call 6829 4079.
8.35am: It's been an action-packed Twenty20 cricket season and it is set to come to a thrilling climax tonight with Newtown meeting Cricketer's Arms Journeymen in the grand final at No. 1 Oval.
The first piece of silverware for the 2014-15 season is up for grabs and despite Newtown finishing the season as minor premiers, Journeymen captain Chris Morton believes his side is going into the match as the form team.
"We've played nearly every Friday night for the last month or so, we've got the form on the board so they've got to match us," he said.
"It's been a benefit for while they've got to come from two day cricket in Twenty20 mode and that's not an easy thing to do."
While Morton claims his side will be favourites Newtown captain Mat Skinner is also on the front foot and says confidence is high in his squad after defeating the Journeymen earlier in the season and not tasting defeat in the Megahit since round two back in early November.
"The boys are feeling good and we're confident," Skinner said.
"Winning the minor premiership gives you confidence in your team and also your ability and we know we can beat them because we did earlier in the season."
Tonight's match begins at 6.30pm.
8.30am: Did you get a chance to check out yesterday's Throwback Thursday gallery?
This week we're heading back to March of 1984.
8.20am: In case you haven't seen it already, the circus is in town!
The Hudsons Circus rolled into Dubbo earlier this week and while it's here for the next two weeks the Daily Liberal has 60 double passes to giveaway.
The atmosphere is set to be breathtaking, thanks to traditional circus music, high-tech lighting, food stalls, with a modern soundtrack included in the performances.
There will be many acts to experience, including the daring tightrope, Australia's largest performing mixed animal act, aerial artists, six dancing stallions, acrobatic routines and western style whip cracking.
There is something for the whole family to enjoy with a full flying trapeze troupe, clowns and rope spinning.
All you have to do to win is follow THIS LINK and then fill out the form, telling us what you love about the circus.
We will draw three lots of 20 winners over the two weeks, the first tickets were drawn on Wednesday with a second lot drawn next Monday, March 9.
The final 20 will be selected on Wednesday March 11, from a competition run through the paper.
You can find out more about the show by checking out The Hudsons Circus website.
8.10am: As always, there's plenty happening in local sport and here's some of today's top stories.
* HARNESS RACING - THE Gold Crown aspirations of a number of the region's two-year-olds will go on the line today in the Daily Liberal 2yo Pace (1720m) at Dubbo Paceway. The Bathurst club's massive festival of pacing is drawing near and the pressure is building on trainers to have their juveniles ready, and today's race will be an important stepping stone for a number of stables.
* GREYHOUNDS - GEURIE trainer Jeanette Foley has had many talented dogs in her time and two of her current leading runners impressed yesterday at Dawson Park.
* RACING - A MASSIVE impost of 66.5kg and the extreme outside gate won't stop Coonabarabran trainer Mick Cox from starting stable star Atomic Blaze at Sunday's Milestone Hotel Sunday Session race meeting at Dubbo Turf Club.
8am: Time for an in-depth look at today's front page story and after the NAPLAN school-by-school results were released to the public yesterday, Dubbo has been described as performing "very well" in 2014.
Director Public Schools - Macquarie, Michael Cronk, made that claim but said there is still room for improvement in the nationwide literary and numeracy tests.
"There has been good growth across the Dubbo schools but there is always a way to go."
- Director Public Schools - Macquarie, Michael Cronk
"The schools are working under Local Schools, Local Decisions and also the Resource Allocation Model and both of the programs have provided schools with significant funding that can lift students' results and as a result, their NAPLAN scores," Mr Cronk said.
Mr Cronk said a number of other programs with a focus on individual learning and performance been introduced that were aimed at improving learning outcomes.
He said the benefit of those should be seen in the next few years.
"There has been good growth across the Dubbo schools but there is always a way to go," he said.
A greater focus on the crucial development years between kindergarten and year 2 and more work is being done with students to establish any weak areas in their numeracy and literacy.
"Those early years are very important and that is where we have been focusing," Mr Cronk said.
Cronk also warned parents against using NAPLAN as a lone indicator of the performance of students or schools.
"NAPLAN is a snapshot of how a student is performing at one point. To get an overall opinion on how students are performing, the data from teachers and principals is far more accurate," Mr Cronk said.
Read more on this story here.
7.50am: PAT Saunders plied his trade as an entrepreneur with quick wit, humour and the dulcet tones of a true radio voice. A larger than life character who loved the western plains of NSW, Mr Saunders worked as a farmer, radio presenter, salesman and tourism and promotions officer. The loving father, grandfather, husband and friend died at Narromine on February 26 at age 84 and you can read more of this touching tribute here.
7.45am: While you're having your breakfast and preparing yourself for one last day of work for the week, why not check out some great photos from around our region?
It's been another busy week in the central west and you can find the best images of the last seven days right here.
7.35am - It's time to check in on all the national and international headlines of the day.
* BALI - The absurd display of military muscle during the transfer of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan to the site of their execution was as much about whipping up the nationalist fervour of Indonesians as sending any message to Australia.
* AUSTRALIA - The federal police would not change anything about the way they handled the Bali nine investigation and continue to use the same guidelines for tipping off overseas police about Australian citizens.
* AMERCIA - A 7-month-old baby is incredibly unharmed after being thrown more than seven metres from a van during a serious roadway accident that involved a van, a car and a semi-trailer.
* AUSTRIA - A 27-year-old Australian woman has died after she was caught in an avalanche in Austria, while a 30-year-old Australian man, reportedly her partner from Melbourne, was seriously injured.
* SINGAPORE - THE world was reminded once again of South East Asia's tough stance on crime when two German men were sentenced on Thursday to nine months jail and caning for vandalism in Singapore.
7.25am - Now for a look at the wider region and here's today's top stories.
* PARKES - Police are appealing for assistance in the search for missing Parkes man Darren Heraghty. Heraghty was last seen by his wife as he was leaving their Noonan Street home about 7.30pm on Monday (3 March 2015). The 41 year old left the premises in a white Holden Colorado utility with the registration plate DH 0318. More information here.
* ORANGE - TEN immigrants working illegally in Orange are in Villawood Detention Centre after a swoop on 12 Orange businesses and residences by Department of Immigration officials last week.
* BATHURST - A PROPOSAL to dual name Mount Panorama its Wiradyuri name of Wahluu could be gazetted within weeks. The Geographical Names Board will consider the proposal at its next meeting on March 31 following a lengthy process of consultation and public submissions.
* TAMWORTH - A TAMWORTH family caught in the throes of cancer have welcomed signals from NSW Premier Mike Baird that unfair chemotherapy costs will be dropped if the Coalition is re-elected.
* COWRA - THE mistaken release of information by NSW Police Media in regards to a suppressed court case has resulted in local martial arts instructor David Simpson reassuring Cowra parents there are strict guidelines in place within the industry regarding accreditation and best practice.
7.15am: To kick off your Friday, here's a look at what's making news around our local area this morning.
* EARLY this morning, 38 seasoned cyclists departed Canberra, and they have Dubbo in their sights with the annual Zoo2Zoo ride heading this way.
* DUBBO - THE Labor and Independent candidates for the seat of Dubbo have vowed to fight for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the electorate in a bid to curb growing concerns about drug use.
* WELLINGTON - THE annual Kevin "Bubbles" Bourke memorial ride was held recently at Wellington and the seventh edition of the event saw a record number of bikes lined up at McDonald's Wellington last Friday morning to start the ride
* DUBBO - THE local Dubbo Bushcare participated in Clean Up Australia Day last weekend and are said to be disappointed by the 120kg of rubbish they discovered in the Macquarie River.
* NARROMINE - MEMBERS of the Narromine Men's Shed have gathered to celebrate the official opening of their new venue.
7am: Good morning to you all and welcome to Friday! You're with Friday Grill specialist Nick Guthrie this morning and for the next couple of hours I'll be giving you everything you need to know about what's happening around our region and across the country. Today's big story is how Dubbo schools fared in the NAPLAN test while there's also plenty happening in sport, some great galleries to have a look at and a number of promotions and giveaways.
But first thing's first, here's the weather.
* DUBBO/ WELLINGTON/ NARROMINE - Quite a bit cooler today and it's currently only a tick over 10 degrees. Expect to be sunny and hit around 30 later today while we can also expect a bit of breeze in the afternoon.
* BOURKE/ COBAR - Further west it's currently around 15 with a maximum today expected of about 32. It's going to be clear skies and breezy later in the day.
