But the Macquarie stalwart also had plenty of things to lament, as familiar errors crept back into the Raiders efforts and saw the side that had seemed set to match up with Forbes instead leave defeated.

"It's been the story all season, I'm very proud of the effort put in from everyone and they've done that game after game, but there was a few crucial errors that really cost us, and those have been there as well," Kelly said.

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His side battled through two periods of extra time on Sunday after being driven to a 22 - 22 draw at full time.

With rain lashing the grounds and frustration and tempers rising, the Raiders were unable to cling to their hopes of pushing further into the finals, with a late try to Parkes' Jay Wright sealing the Raiders fate deep into the golden point period.

Nic Tighe and Dalin Smith both powered over early to get Macquarie started on the right foot and Parkes struggled to assert themselves in the first two quarters as Sonny Knight piled on a third unanswered try for the host.

Jay Wright opened the scoring for Parkes deep into the game and down 14 points, but a conversion for Jammara Goolagong helped alleviate the pressure on the visitors as errors and mistakes began to force both sides to adjust their play with the score at 14 - 6.

Brandan Hamilton kicked Macquarie back into gear with a blistering fast, long range try, but Jammara Goolagong fired back in a similarly quick showing to close the gap a little more.

A shoulder tackle from Parkes' Cody Crisp saw them down a man, but they wasted no time in firing back with Toby Miller with Goolagong adding the extras and Finnley Neilson pouncing on the ball to give Macquarie another scare, with only a missed conversion from Goolagong sparing Macquarie an immediate loss.

The two sides battled back and forth through two periods of extra time, with the rain wearing on both sides, but it was Wright who struck again for Parkes and silenced the home crowd.

Parkes coach Sam Dwyer was thrilled to see the effort put in by his side, particularly after fitness and a lack of longevity cost them in an earlier season fixture against Macquarie.

"It was a bit scary there for a while, but the boys really dug in and got it done in the end," Dwyer said.

"Last six weeks or so, we've really hooked in with our fitness and it really got us through in the end there."

While there was no disappointment following such an electric, thrilling win, Dwyer was happy to single out his forward pack as deserving of praise after delivering big for over 60 minutes.

"A few big efforts from some individual players, but especially from our forwards, some of them played nearly 60 whole minutes, so their effort really paid off for us."

Dwyer was also happy to see Forbes win earlier in the day, setting up a huge semi-final meeting between the two rival towns.

"They're obviously the benchmark, so it's a tough test to take on, but the boys'll be thrilled to get a chance to play them, that's going to be an incredible game."

Parkes Spacemen 26 (Jay Wright 2 tries, Jammara Goolagong try, 3 goals, Finnley Neilson, Toby Miller) defeated Macquarie Raiders 22 (Nic Tighe, Dalin Smith, Brandan Hamilton, Nathan Walker, Sonny Knight tries, Nathan Walker goal) in golden point extra time.