Whitney Wrap | Lockie Rummans stars for Souths while Colts and CYMS win again

But there was a difference on Saturday as it was teenager Lockie who led South Dubbo to victory.

The son of current South Dubbo captain Greg, a leading Dubbo batsmen over a number of decades, made 78 not out as the Hornets shocked Macquarie on Saturday and continued a remarkable run of form.

Having finished with the wooden spoon for each of the past four seasons, Souths have now beaten RSL Colts, Newtown and Macquarie in successive weeks and are firmly in the first grade finals race for 2022/23.

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"I think we're a good chance of getting over the top of a few sides," Lockie said, looking forward.

"That's a good start, there. We'll keep building."

Rummans' match-winning knock was a gutsy one, as he came to the crease after Macquarie quicks Ben Strachan and Mitch Williams had reduced the Hornets to 4/29.

Williams' third and fourth wickets, those of Harry Roscarel (8) and Joey Cant (4), had Souths reeling at 6/45 but Rummans and the lower order dug in.

"That wasn't ideal," Rummans said of the early score.

"I had to try and build an innings rather than a couple of others weeks where I've been a bit rushed and gone in and tried to hit the ball harder.

"That bowling attack they had made it pretty tough to bat and they were putting it on the spot most balls. It was pretty good bowling."

It eventually got easier though and Rummans went on to make 78 not out from 113 balls while Blake Dillon's 18 from 36 balls was also crucial as Souths posted 9/160.

It was a breakthrough performance with the bat for the teenager, who has been most well-known previously for his spin-bowling.

"There's been a lot going into the batting for me and the rest of the side," Rummans added, before talking about what it means to be one of the younger players in the side now contributing to victories.

"It's hard to explain but it's just a really, really good feeling.

"We've all stepped up and everyone is contributing. We know everyone is good enough to do it and it's showing now."

It really showed during Macquarie's innings, as Souths produced one of its best performances in the field this season.

Wickets were taken at regular intervals and Myles Smith's score of 26 was the best for a Blues' lineup which struggled to really build any momentum.

Jon Kilby bagged 2/33 while Kane MacFarlane earned a huge amount of praise for his miserly 2/13 from eight overs.

Cant entered the fray late on and finished things off, taking 3/11 from 2.5 overs as the Blues were rolled for 134.

Elsewhere on Saturday, RSL Colts maintained its place at the top of the ladder by scoring a convincing 78-run win over Newtown.

Once again, it was Whitney Cup leading run-scorer Chris Morton who led the way for Colts.

His 72 from 77 balls at the top of the order, combined with 59 from captain Marty Jeffrey at first drop, gave Colts all the momentum and Jason Ryan then banged 48 not out from 34 balls late on to get the competition leaders to a commanding total of 8/255.

While wicketless, Steve Skinner was a standout with the ball for Newtown and conceded just 19 runs from his eight overs while Tim Hamilton took 4/57 from eight.

Skinner then got his side's run chase off to a solid start but he received little support from the rest of the top order.

Skinner made 53 from 47 balls and while each of the top five batsmen reached double figures, he was the only one who made it past 15.

Jeffrey completed a fine all-round game by ripping through Newtown's lower order and finishing with 4/27 from eight while Tim Howarth had earlier done the damage from first change and took 4/40.

In the final match of the round, CYMS bounced back from a disappointing Twenty20 loss to Newtown on Friday night by defeating a spirited Rugby side by 30 runs.

The Cougars managed just 9/99 in reply to Newtown's 4/166 in Friday's MoneyQuest Megahit clash and it appeared their batting could let them down again on Saturday when they slumped to 4/36.

But, as has been the case previously this season, Thomas Nelson dug in to provide some resistance and he found valuable support in captain Ben Knaggs (39 off 42) and then younger brother, Paddy.

Much like they did in a recent Western Zone Cup representative match, the Nelson brothers combined in a fine partnership to lead CYMS to a strong total of 6/210.

Thomas finished unbeaten with a crucial 85 from 128 balls while Paddy chimed in with 31 not out from 37.

Nicholas Whitlock took 3/32 for Rugby, who then began the chase in fine fashion.

Ben Wheeler and captain Jacob Hill hand their side firmly on track to victory as they navigated CYMS' strong seam attack and then capitalised.

The pair took the score to 111 before Tom Barber bowled Wheeler for 41.

That began the slide for Rugby, who lost 4/7 and then 4/6 soon after a slight rebuild.

Hill was part of the latter slump, removed by Knaggs for 80, and CYMS' attack then kept things tight to restrict Rugby to 8/180.

The final round before the Christmas break is next and the action starts with a Megahit clash between Souths and Colts on Friday night.

Souths will then take on CYMS in the annual club day match on Saturday while Colts takes on Macquarie and Newtown meets Rugby.

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