The Unicorns failed to field a first grade side just last season, but roared back into the competition this season and capped off a stellar season when downing the Gilgandra Panthers 32-22.

The fact the win came on the Panthers' turf at McGrane Oval made the win even more impressive.

Much credit for the Unicorns' resurgence must go to captain-coach Jarvis Watton, who united the new-look side and moulded it into a premiership-winning outfit.

Saturday's decider was played in warm conditions in front of a strong crowd and some grand final nerves may have played a role in both sides' inability to maintain possession early on.

The scoreboard was not called on until the 10th minute when livewire Coonabarabran hooker Damon Nixon latched on to a wayward Gilgandra bomb that was allowed to bounce and sprinted 40 metres to score.

RELATED:

- Gold wins battle of the clubmates in all-Saints decider

- Ross makes the difference as Raiders hold off Nyngan in 14s decider

- Panthers win grand final thriller to secure date with Cowboys

The Panthers didn't have to wait long to hit back, as a Coonabarabran error from the kick-off gave them possession and soon after second-rower Kieren Hazelton crashed over to help get it back to 6-all.

The two sides then went from end-to-end but on 30 minutes Unicorns five eighth Peter Watton broke the deadlock and got his side out to a 12-6 lead.

It was soon 18-6 after Nixon planted down a grubber and his side went into the sheds with that 12-point advantage.

Following on from some epic grand final comebacks in the past Gilgandra supporters were hoping for a Panthers resurgence after the break, and that is what they got when Luke Ritchie scored from a standing start with only three minutes gone.

That effort was soon followed by another try to the home side when their fullback DJ Smith finished off some good ball work out wide.

The following conversion levelled things up with 24 minutes remaining.

The Panthers looked to have taken the lead when Hayden Smith burst through the defence and was set to score but was deemed to have lost the ball over the line.

This seemed to lift the Unicorns, while at the same time deflating the Panthers and from that point on Coonabarabran slowly but surely regrouped and began to get on top again.

A penalty goal with 17 to go edged them in front and that lead ballooned after two converted tries in the space of six minutes.

With the Unicorns up 32-18 at that point were well on the way to making history.

A second try to Hazelton as the hooter sounded completed the scoring for the day but it was just a consolation for the Panthers.

The Unicorns' hard working second-rower PJ Stanton was named as the Castlereagh League player of the year while Hazelton was a standout in a beaten side on Saturday and was named player of the grand final.

The Unicorns weren't the only ones to score a first on Saturday, as earlier the Cobar Roosters created club history when their Youth League side defeated the Coonamble Bears 30-26 to win a first Castlereagh League title after they joined the competition prior to the 2018 season.

The young Roosters had to battle hard before they got to raise the silverware, with the scores being locked at 12-all at half time.

They then shot out to 24-12 lead before the Bears clawed their way back to make it 24-22, the final hectic minutes seeing both sides scoring tries and the Roosters getting home by a four-point margin.

Cobar lock Johnny Best was named as the player of the grand final, while Coonamble's five-eighth Liam Fernando was named the Castlereagh League Youth League player of the year.

The Baradine Magpies secured back to back league tag premierships when they saw off a strong challenge for the title from the Coonabarabran Unicorns, winning the entertaining game 14-4 after leading 4-0 at the break.

The Magpies' star fullback Maria Nagy scored two tries and was named not only as the player of the grand final but also the Castlereagh League League Tag player of the year.