In a match that will be long remembered, the Dunedoo Swans booked themselves a home grand final when they won a suspenseful major semi-final against the Coonamble Bears last Saturday.
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As was the case the previous week in the minor semi-final the game was decided in golden point extra time after the two teams could not be separated after 80 minutes in a high-quality contest but the Swans eventually got across the line, winning 26-22.
The packed crowd at Dunedoo's Robertson Oval was treated to an intriguing match where both sides threw everything at each other.
The visitors opened the scoring in the ninth minute when a towering and swirling bomb from Coonamble captain coach Brad Pickering led to Jarryd Rae crossing the line.
Dunedoo probed the Coonamble line for the next 10 minutes and opened their account when centre Chris Jones latched on to a loose ball and raced 25 metres to score and the resulting conversion made it six-all.
Just before half-time the Swans extended their lead when winger Tyson Searle finished off a backline move and a great sideline conversion by Kerrin O'Malley had the hosts leading 12-6 at the break.
The Bears were quick to respond in the opening minutes of the second stanza with their fullback, Nathan Burtenshaw, spearing on to a sweet pass from front-rower Aaron West and it was all square again at 12-all.
The deadlock was not broken until three quarters of the game had elapsed when the Swans coach and five-eighth, Tom Yeo, took on the Bear's defence from close range and he was able to reach out and plant the ball over the line to give his side an 18 to 12 lead but it was soon 18-16 when Bears' centre Jake Lane crossed out wide.
A great long pass from Yeo put Searle in for his second try for a six point buffer, the score being 22 to 16 and with the minutes counting down the Swans missed a field goal in an ideal position,
With just three minutes left West stormed onto a pass to score and the conversion locked the scores up for the third time in the match.
Both teams went for the try rather than a field goal in extra time but finally after nine minutes the Swans' persistence payed off and the ball was spun wide from a scrum and Jones was able to slice through and score his second, bringing to an end what was a great advertisement for the Castlereagh League competition.
The Swans will enjoy having this weekend off to recover from what was as physical an encounter as it was entertaining, while the Bears will have to regroup to take on the Coonabarabran Unicorns in Coonamble at 2.30pm on Saturday.
o DUNEDOO SWANS 26 (Tyson Searle 2, Chris Jones 2, Tom Yeo tries, Kerrin O'Malley 3 goals) defeated COONAMBLE BEARS 22 (Nathan Burtenshaw, Jake Lane, Aaron West, Jarryd Rae tries, Brad Pickering 3 goals)