IT will not go down in the history books as one of most pure games of rugby league, and it was not the prettiest of wins CYMS coach Tim Ryan has overseen in his tenure as coach, but the Fishies are into yet another Group 11 grand final after recording an 18-16 win against a brave Parkes Spacemen outfit at Caltex Park on Saturday.
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In a game in which the error tally would have matched the points tally, it took a late try from reigning player of the year Jyie Chapman to get the defending premiers over the line against a Parkes side that played the bulk of the game with just two men on the bench.
But a win is a win, and the Fishies have plenty of improvement in them as they await the winner of this weekend's preliminary final between Parkes and Wellington.
"It was a putrid game of football to be honest, but we found a way again which is good," Ryan said afterwards.
"It's funny because I've been wanting us to start better and we did that today, but after the first 20 minutes we were pretty awful.
"The good thing is that when we fell behind we had guys that could make a play happen and that was enough to get us a spot in the grand final."
Tries to Luke Jenkins and Kieran Shipp gave CYMS a 12-0 lead after as many minutes, and Parkes' problems were compounded in that time when second-rower Hayden Robinson was forced from the field with a shoulder injury.
But from that point the game meandered into a battle to see who could make more mistakes before a penalty to Matt Naden in the 33rd minute extended the lead to 14 points.
Parkes centre Kevin Frank crossed three minutes before half-time to bring the margin to just eight points, but the Spacemen were dealt another blow when star young fullback Sam Dwyer came off with a suspected broken thumb.
No points were added to the score in the opening 25 minutes of the second half, yet the game was strangely intriguing as CYMS looked for the moment that would kill the game as a contest while Parkes searched for the luck they had been without in order to get within striking distance.
Then, out of nowhere, the latter happened and the game came to life.
A Dennis Moran grubber cannoned off the upright and into the waiting arms of hooker Tino Ionatana, who dived over and the ensuing conversion from winger Jesse Parker brought the margin to just two points with 15 minutes remaining.
Three minutes later an Alex Prout try had the Spacemen in front and they were a chance of recording one of their bravest ever victories.
But with four minutes remaining Shipp, whose earlier brilliance was countered by a couple of rare errors, came up with the play that ultimately put his side into the decider.
With CYMS on the attack, Shipp found a little bit of space and jinked his way to the right edge before delivering a flick pass to his good mate Chapman, who dived over in the corner to take the score to 18-16, where it would ultimately remain.
With the players shattered after going so close, it was left to Parkes vice-president Michael Dumesny to speak on behalf of his club.
"Things didn't go our way today but the boys were brave. They're pretty quiet in the rooms but they have a lot to be proud of," he said.
"We only had two on the bench for more than half the game, and late we only had one when Michael Mitchell came off with an ankle problem.
"It hurts to get beaten like that in the last couple of minutes but we fought back from 14-0 down to hit the front and we know we can play a lot better. We'll need to call on some fringe players next week but hopefully we can come through it and be back here in a fortnight to play CYMS again."
o DUBBO CYMS 18 (Luke Jenkins, Kieran Shipp, Jyie Chapman tries; Matt Naden 3 goals) def PARKES SPACEMEN 16 (Kevin Frank, Tino Ionatana, Alex Prout tries; Jesse Parker 2 goals)