If there was an award for player of the Group 11 league tag grand final, flying Spacecats star Paige Hay would have been a shandy off taking home the gong.
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The Parkes girls stormed to a 22-10 victory over a Westside in the grand final and, alongside Ward twins Cass and Ash, Hay was tremendous for the victorious red, white and blues.
The 20-year-old only started playing league tag in 2017 but a touch background has helped Hay hit the ground running, her speed and footwork enabling her to slice through opposition defensive lines seemingly at will.
She scored a try and made multiple line-breaks against the Rabbitohs in the decider and ahead of Sunday’s inaugural NAB Western Premiers Challenge shapes as one of Parkes’ key players as the Spacecats look to cap an undefeated season with Rams supremacy.
“I guess I just love playing crucial games when everyone’s watching and you've got a lot riding on the result,” Hay said.
“Winning the competition was such a surreal experience.
“It was a first senior grand final for a lot of the younger girls in the team and it was extra special for the girls that played last year and went down in the grand final.”
As well as the Spacecats played in their decider, collectively they’ll need to find a whole new level on Sunday.
The Group 11 champions will take on Group 10 powerhouse Bathurst St Pat’s at Carrington Park.
Neither side lost a game in 2018 on route to their respective title wins and Hay says if Parkes is to put that blemish on the Saints’ record they’ll have to be exceptional.
... winning would also prove to the town and the club that we have a lot of talent here in Parkes.
- Spacecats star Paige Hay.
“I know St Pat's have an absolute gun side,” Hay, a journalism student at CSU Bathurst, said.
“I've played touch with a few of the girls in the team and they're all really skillful with the ball.”
Hay says winning would be great for the side, but more so for the Parkes community.
“Winning this challenge would not only be the icing on the cake for a perfect season but winning would also prove to the town and the club that we have a lot of talent here in Parkes,” she said.
Parkes takes on St Pat’s from 11.50am on Sunday.
In the other games, Red Bend and St Pat’s kick off the day from 10.30am and Forbes takes on Panthers in under 18s and first grade.
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
