2020 may well be a year that most of us would like to forget but Castlereagh League fans are looking forward to a grand final day that will cap off a memorable year for one of the few NSWRL regional competitions that went ahead and provided plenty of thrills in this rather unique year.
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If there was any thought that the COVID affected competition was not going to be "full on" it as been dispelled by some great football being played across the three grades during the ten rounds of the competition and exemplified by the standard of the sudden death semi-finals played over the weekend at Gilgandra and Cobar, with some of the many highlights being the two first grade games that both featured some stunning attack and some equally resolute defence.
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The Gilgandra Panthers claimed hosting rights for the Christie and Hood Castlereagh League grand finals when they won an extremely hard fought win over their northern arch rivals, the Coonamble Bears in their semi final played at Gilgandra on Saturday.
It was to be a hard-fought win by the Panthers as the Bears pushed the home side to the limit and with six minutes to go it was anyone's game with the scoreboard indicating Gilgandra narrowly ahead 16 points to 14.
An intense finish it was indeed with the match not sealed until a converted try to the Panthers with 29 seconds on the clock secured them the win and another home grand final to call their home and send the club home grinning.
Sunday saw an equally entertaining and intense first grade encounter unfold at the Cobar's Tom Knight Oval between the Roosters and the Dunedoo Swans who had met just the previous week at Dunedoo with the Swans coming away victorious.
Some stoic try line defence and brilliant attack saw them repeat the dose when they upset the Roosters on their home turf and then winged their way in to the grand final for a shot at their second Castlereagh League Premiership against the victorious Panthers.
In the other grades both Coonamble and Cobar proved to be too strong for Binnaway and Gilgandra in the second half and they will meet in what will be a repeat of the 2019 grand final where the Roosters went home crowing.
The league tag semi-finals were both entertaining affairs with the Dunedoo Swanettes securing a grand final berth in a do-or-die performance that went right down to the last minute when they defeated the Gilgandra Pink Panthers 20 to 16 and the Baradine Magpiettes presented themselves with an opportunity to make it three premierships in a row when they narrowly downed the Coonamble Bears 26 to 20 in a nail-biter to set up an all bird clash in the women's competition.
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