THE Coonamble Bears stitched up two Bendigo Bank Castlereagh League minor premierships last Saturday when their first grade side took out a tense game 29-26 on the road at Gulgong, and their League Tag team downed the Coolah Flyers 36-6 at Coolah.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With just two rounds remaining neither of the Bears teams can be toppled from finishing on top of their respective competition ladders in what is yet another fine achievement by the accomplished club.
The big question now is who will be facing the Bears in the major semi-finals of both competitions, which will be staged at Coonamble.
The loss by the Terriers has opened up a slim glimmer of hope for the Gilgandra Panthers.
The Panthers may be able to force their way into a major semi-final berth after they downed a willing Trangie Magpies outfit on a sodden Trangie track, winning 38-10.
Currently the Panthers sit equal second on the competition ladder with the Terriers, both being on 19 points.
The run to the semis for the two teams sees Gilgandra hosting both Coolah and Coonamble in their two remaining games while Gulgong will take on Trangie at home before having a bye in the last round.
The Terriers enjoy a far superior for-and-against record and they would have to be highly favoured to be taking on the Bears in the major semi with Gilgandra finishing third and taking on Coonabarabran Unicorns in the minor semi at Gilgandra.
The Unicorns cannot be ousted from fourth position on the ladder after their convincing win over the Coolah Kangaroos last weekend.
The semi-finalists in the League Tag have also been decided with the Gilgandra Pink Panthers bowing out of semi-final contention after they went down to the Dunedoo Swannettes 14-10 in a high-quality fixture at Dunedoo.
While Coonamble has claimed the minor premiership, the jostling to settle which rung on the ladder the other three teams in the top four will claim is far from over.
The match of the round will be played out at Coonamble this Saturday with the first placed Bears taking on second placed Coonabarabran, and if the Unicorns can get a win it would go a long way to securing second position and a major semi-final berth.
However breathing down their necks are the Trangie Magpies and the Dunedoo Swannettes who sit just two points behind the Unicorns.
The introduction of League tag to the Bendigo Bank Castlereagh League competition has been an outstanding success and spectators are in for a treat as the season works towards its finale.
