Finals football returned to Cale Oval on Saturday for the first time in 5 years, and boy did it return with a bang!
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The Gorillas put in one of their best performances of the season to score a resounding 45 to seven win over premiership contenders the Geurie Goats.
The victory means Narromine has booked its place in the grand final, which is to be held at Cale Oval on September 2.
It was a cold and blustery winters day that greeted the players and supporters, but the rugby was red hot from the outset. Both sides brought a physicality to the early exchanges that is reserved for finals footy, and I’d expect a few sore bodies at Tuesday training.
Running into a stiff southerly breeze in the first half, the Gorillas knew points would be at a premium, and Dylan Ryan was able to slot a penalty kick after five minutes of play.
The first Narromine try came when number eight Luke Brown darted from the back of a scrum on half way before passing back inside to flanker Mick Harris on the fly. Harris then linked with lock Sam McLeod who was able to put flanker Bill Rybak through a hole and he showed great pace to beat the cover defence and cross next to the posts.
Centre Tim Gainsford was next to score after beating thre or four defenders on a carving run from 20 metres out. Another conversion and penalty goal from Ryan had the score at 20 to zero leading into the break, and the Gorillas had to defend valiantly to keep it that way as the Goats pressured their line.
The second half couldn’t have started better for the home side with winger Billy Browning crossing after just 23 seconds following some good lead up work from Harris, Gainsford and Charlie MacInnes. Fly-half Jono Sharkey was next to score after a well worked rolling maul, before Tim Allworth raided the blind side and put Brown over with a deft pass back inside.
Geurie were then rewarded with a try after some good lead up work by their forwards.
However, further tries to Halfback Ryan Pratten and a penalty kick to fullback George Hancock saw the score finish at 45-7.
The Gorillas will now enjoy a weekends rest before taking on either Geurie or Molong in the big dance in two weeks time.
We would love for local businesses to get behind the Gorillas with shop front displays next week. The business with the best display will win a Gorillas supporters pack valued at $100