A clever dart from dummy half by Jack Nobes has helped Orange CYMS continue their unbeaten start to the Peter McDonald Premiership season but the 18-12 win looks to have come at a huge cost.
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Halfback Dan Mortimer left the Wade Park field with eight minutes remaining before half-time after being collected high by a swinging arm from a Forbes Magpies player, one of three incidents placed on report for the away side.
There were concerning scenes as trainers tended to the former NRL player, who was motionless, however after a short while he was able to walk off the field.
Coach Jack Buchanan said it was too early to tell to what extent the halfback was injured.
"I saw him at half-time and he still wasn't too crash hot so I'll head back in and see how he is," he said.
"It's a contact sport, unfortunately sometimes they slip up and unfortunately he was on the back end of it."
'She was a tough one'
The wild weather was often matched by the back and forth between the two sides as they went at each other in an arm-wrestle.
Rain, wind and the traditional Wade Park mud bowl made attacking football a struggle and the sides entered the sheds locked at 6-all.
CYMS' first defied the weather however with winger Liam Wilson flying high a la Daniel Tupou to score in the corner off a kick.
Magpies hit back via Jack Smith, stemming the tide of constant CYMS pressure.
The script was flipped early in the second but it was the home side's turn to dig in and defend.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 60th minute as Nobes took advantage of some sloppy markers to dart over close to the line.
Five minutes later Buchanan got on the end of a Nobes grubber kick, diving to plant the ball down and secure two points.
Forbes hit back via Traie Merritt and had a last throw of the dice but an error delivered the ball back into green and gold hands where it stayed until the siren.
Nobes, who joined CYMS from Cowra Magpies in the off-season, said it was a rough slog in the mud.
"She was a tough one," he said.
"She was a battle. It was six all for a long period of time.
"That was a grind, you don't get much more of a harder grind than that.
"I think both teams stuck in there and towards the end there, I think we just stuck to our structures and stuck to our plan.
"He [Buchanan] said don't come out and expect the same thing because it's Forbes' first game and they'll come out firing and credit to them.
"They put it to us."
Orange CYMS 18 (Liam Wilson, Jack Nobes, Jack Buchanan tries; Pat Williams 3 goals) defeated Forbes Magpies 12 (Jack Smith, Traie Merritt tyries; Nick Greenhalgh 2 goals)
