Nyngan Tigers captain-coach Byron Warren was a shattered man when his side lost to Forbes in the Group 11 preliminary final but he quickly turned his attention to grand final day, where his club will be represented in the under-18s.
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The pain the Tigers faithful felt by losing to Forbes in Sunday’s main game at Parkes was eased somewhat by the fact the club’s youngsters won through to take on the Wellington Cowboys on the biggest day of the season.
And while beating Wellington is a whole other question, one guarantee on grand final day is the passionate Nyngan supporters being in full voice once again.
“Our crowd, and I think everyone agrees, is easily the best in the Group,” Warren said on Sunday.
“They travel and follow us and for the under-18s, never in Group 11 have the 18s made it so I’m very proud of the club and the juniors.”
Nyngan was made to work for its victory in the under-18s on Sunday, but lock forward and NSW Country representative Clayton Couley produced one of the best individual performances of the season to lead his side.
Couley scored one and set another up with a brilliant offload while his go-forward inspired the Tigers time and time again.
The sides couldn’t be separated in the first half with Couley and Forbes’ own star player Mitch Andrews also getting heavily involved as the sides went into the sheds at 12-all.
The high-tempo play continued in the second half but Nyngan took its chances when it mattered and secured the club’s first ever place in a Group 11 under-18s grand final.
“It’s really good, it’s been a long time since Nyngan has made it so it feels really good,” Couley said after the win.
“The boys put in all game and we got there. We expected a hard game and we trained hard all week for it, on our plays and things like that and we got over them.”
While Couley was the star of the show, five-eighth Donald ‘DJ’ Kennedy again directed his side around well while the likes of Daniel Stanley, Tom Waterhouse and and Owen Kennedy make the Tigers a formidable outfit.
“I helped us get over the line but all the boys put in and made it easier for me so that was good,” Couley said, before speaking about the grand final match-up with the Cowboys.
“Hopefully we can train good and perform well and get over the top of them.”
Nyngan took on the Cowboys in the recent major semi-final and Wellington, led by Kotoni Staggs and Brogan Black, won that won comfortably.
Wellington scored a 41-18 at Caltex Park to book passage straight through to the decider and also show the Tigers how much work they need to do to overturn the result on Sunday.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
