Wood and Mick Fraser again teamed up to lead the Macquarie Valley under 16s side to this season’s inter-council title, while the under 14s side also won its division and the under 12s only lost once on the way to finishing second behind Mitchell.

The inter-council competition draws in players from various areas but Macquarie Valley sides are almost purely filled with Dubbo players.

RELATED:

 – All the photos from the weekend’s junior inter council matches at Lady Cutler

 – Dubbo moves up but top spot far from certain in Western Zone Premier League

 – Wranglers captain slams Regional Bash finals switch after SCG game is ruled out

There is no Dubbo under 16s representative side while the Mitchell team is made up of players from the likes of Orange and Bathurst, all who play against each other in their own representative competition.

But that strength and number of matches doesn’t necessarily transfer through to inter-council success, and Wood feels its because more Macquarie Valley juniors play senior cricket in Dubbo.

Almost the entire Macquarie Valley under 16s side plays senior cricket in Dubbo, with a number even featuring in the RSL-Whitney Cup first grade competition.

“In the last three years we’ve really dominated the Western Zone sides and that’s a credit to the boys,” Wood said.

“I think other sides might not be as exposed to tougher cricket while ours are used to that bit tougher cricket.

“They grow up playing senior cricket and play that bit tougher a bit earlier.”

Wood refused to single out any player within his side as a standout this season, with the entire side bouncing back from a heavy loss to Lachlan in round one to win its next three games and finish in top spot.

The campaign came to an end on Sunday at Lady Cutler and Macquarie Valley scored a tough 14-run win over Mitchell.

Darcy Chewings patient unbeaten 87 was a highlight in his side’s total of 9-258 while Nate Ambler (61) and Kieran Rosenbaum (41) also made important contributions.

Rosenbaum then took the new ball and finished with 3-44 from nine overs as Mitchell was dismissed for 244.

That win followed back-to-back wins over each council in previous matches earlier in the season.

“Every player contributed in one way or another,” Wood said.

“We got towelled up in that first game and then we didn’t really look like losing another game.

“Mick and I just got to spend a bit more time with them and put that cricket knowledge into them. Cricket isn’t the first sport for a lot of them so it was more about that focus and having good fun.

“When it all worked, it worked beautifully.”

The first win over Mitchell was one of the highlights of the under 16s campaign as Macquarie Valley chased down its opponent’s total of 9-244 on slow Bathurst field.

Jesse Spang, Ben Rosenbaum and Koda Sissian all made half centuries in that victory.

Sissian made two half centuries for Macquarie Valley this season.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Macquarie Valley fell short of glory in the under 12s competition following an amazing tie in Sunday’s final round.

Macquarie and Mitchell both finished on 156 in the match but the mood in the two camps were vastly different after the game.

Mitchell was on track for its fourth win from as many games but lost four wickets for as many runs in a thrilling finale to the clash.

Alexander Maas won one of Macquarie’s heroes, claiming three late wickets, while Max Richardson had earlier top-scored with 33.

In the under 14s, Macquarie defeated Mitchell by five wickets to finish top.

Rudy Peet and Jai Reeves each took two wickets during a strong bowling performance which restricted Mitchell to just 122.

There were a few wobbles in the run chase but Anthony Atlee made 54 to make it a relatively comfortable win for the hosts.