Westside have gone agonisingly close to an upset but it was Forbes who walked away with the points after a 32-26 win in their Group 11 clash on Sunday.
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The Rabbitohs hosted the match at Caltex Park but looked like they were in for a long day when they went to the sheds at half-time trailing 22-6.
A second half revival saw them get within two points before a late try to Forbes killed the comeback.
Despite the final score, Westside captain Kurt Fuller said there was plenty to be happy about from the match.
The Rabbitohs scored their first win of the season last week against the Cowboys and a good showing against the Magpies on Sunday had Fuller hopeful his team was heading in the right direction.
“It was a pretty good performance, there were just a few bad options at critical times. We coughed up the ball too much,” Fuller said.
Forbes coaching coordinator Cameron Greenhalgh said he felt some tough calls went against his side and allowed Westside back into the game.
“We fell away and had a few penalties go against us in the second half, a few rough calls. We needed to be better, we scrapped through just but we seemed to come out in the second half thinking we had done enough,” he said.
Sam Coe opened the scoring for Westside just six minutes into the match but a mistake from the following set put Forbes into an attacking position. Magpies prop Ben Robinson barged over under the posts.
Both teams blew chances before Matt Roylance scored for Forbes midway through the half. Zac Merritt was the next to score, before Jarrod Reid also went over.
Westside earned a penalty in front of the sticks right before half-time after a professional foul by Magpies fullback Mitch Andrews, who earned himself 10 minutes in the sin bin.
The Rabbitohs elected not to go for goal but with 16 seconds on the clock weren’t able to do anything with their chance.
It gave the visitors a 22-6 half-time lead and when they scored two minutes into the second half, they appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory.
However quick tries to Kurt Fuller and Jarrin Fernando, who showed great speed to score down the right wing, gave the Rabbitohs hope.
Forbes then made a mistake by batting in a ball that was going over the sideline, only for Blaize Fuller to sweep it up and score, closing the gap to 28-22
A forward pass denied the Magpies a chance to put the game out of reach before Westside replacement Clayton Edwards scored out wide. Fernando’s goal fell just short, leaving the hosts trailing by two.
They piled plenty of pressure on but Forbes were able to work their way up the field in the final minutes and a try for Matt Woolnough put the match out of the reach of the Dubbo side.
Props Zac Merritt and Ben Robinson led by example for the Magpies, while Colt Tairu, Peter Miller, Blaize Fuller and Jarrin Fernando were amongst the strongest for Westside.
“If we can work on a few things and get some combinations, especially in the halves, the boys are in a good position,” Fuller said.
FORBES MAGPIES 32 (Ben Robinson, Matt Roylance, Zac Merritt, Jarrod Reid, Ben Maguire, Matt Woolnough tries; Traie Merrit 4 goals) defeated DUBBO WESTSIDE 26 (Sam Coe, Kurt Fuller, Jarrin Fernando, Blaize Fuller, Clayton Edwards tries; Jarrin Fernando 3 goals)
