Dubbo CYMS defeated Macquarie Raiders 16-10 in the Peter McDonald Premiership

A late try to Brad Pickering got CYMS over the line in the end but Macquarie can take a lot of pride away from the match which finished 16-10.

CYMS winger Tom Hughes believes his side wasn't at their best in parts of the game but said they will take the win.

"It was a bit scrappy, we made it pretty hard for ourselves but we'll take the two points any day of the week," he said.

Raiders captain-coach Alex Ronayne couldn't have asked his side for more on Sunday, especially in such a physical contest.

"It was a very tough game, it's hard to go down in the end," he said

"But we know what CYMS are like, you've just got to play 80 minutes with those blokes and credit to them.

"But we are in the mix."

Light rain fell across Apex Oval but it wasn't bad enough to cause either team from shifting the ball early.

Both teams started fast and physical but it was the Raiders who scored the first points of the afternoon as Clayton Daley crossed out wide in the 23rd minute.

CYMS centre Jeremy Thurston was denied two tries in the opening 30 minutes but his side found some joy towards the back end of the half as Pickering scored out wide with the scores locked up at 4-all at the break.

If the Raiders were to win it felt like they had to score the first points of the half and they did just that.

Macquarie fullback Josh Nixon sliced through a hole in the CYMS defence to score but with the kick going wide once again, the Raiders led 8-4 with 30 minutes left.

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After moving into the centres, Hughes thought he scored a wonderful leaping try in the left-hand corner only to be ruled to be out.

But CYMS kept applying pressure and eventually, the Raiders' defence cracked as Fletcher Haycock beat three players to score right next to the posts, and with Pickering's successful conversion the Fishies moved ahead 10-8.

Minutes later, Raiders halfback Jai Merritt opted to kick early for his side but found the chest of Corey Drew who moved past nearly the whole Macquarie side in his 40m spurt.

With his side needing a big play, Colt Ure stepped up and stripped the ball off Jyie Chapman inside CYMS' 30m line, the very next play a penalty was blown and the Raiders opted to take the shot at goal to tie the match up.

Corey Cox stepped up for his first shot at goal for the afternoon and nailed the kick levelling the scores at 10-a-piece with 15 minutes left.

The clock continued to tick down and with both sides unable to score, CYMS duo Ben Marlin and Jayden Merritt pulled off a huge hit which dislodged the ball, turning the momentum back in the Fishies' favour.

In the very next set, Thurston threw a beautiful cut-out ball to Pickering who crossed over the line to score his second try of the game.

Pickering's missed conversion kept Macquarie in the game but a string of penalties allowed CYMS to march downfield and the fullback was able to kick a penalty goal to move the score to 16-10.

Macquarie required something special with just two minutes remaining and had one last set attacking CYMS' line but couldn't crack as a cross-field kick from Merritt was forced dead by Pickering, sealing the win for the Fishies.

In his first derby since moving to Dubbo, Hughes admitted he had heard a lot about the rivalry between the two clubs ahead of the match.

"Going into the finals it is always good to have a tough game," he said.

"There are going to be no easy games from here so having a tough one now is good for us.

"It was a tough game of footy for sure, it was as tough as any game I've played.

"It was good to come out on top."

Like Hughes, Ronayne believes Sunday's game will put the Raiders in good stead heading into the finals next weekend.

"Our finals started today, you can't get much better than CYMS, especially in bush footy," he said.

"Today we showed we can stick with them and I'm very proud of my boys.

"We had a couple of injuries very early but it was a good job from the boys."

Filisone Pauta was forced off early due to an injury but Ronayne was pleased with the effort his middles showed especially being one man down.

"I'm very impressed with Kane McDermott," he said.

"He does a lot of stuff people don't see but credit to those boys.

"We will get ready for next week then take it week by week."

DUBBO CYMS 16 (Brad Pickering 2, Fletcher Haycock tries; Pickering conversion, penalty goal) defeated MACQUARIE RAIDERS 10 (Josh Nixon, Clayton Daley tries; Corey Cox penalty goal)

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