Last weekend saw the high-flying Narromine Jets take on the South Dubbo Raiders in the Group 11 U16s grand final at Caltex Park in Dubbo.
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In what looked like a very even match on paper, it soon became obvious that a fired-up Narromine side had too much class and would eventually take out the match and did so 36-12.
With semi-final wins over Nyngan and Wellington, the Jets proved that taking the hard road to the grand inal can be successful.
With a large crowd of Narromine followers cheering on, the Jets came out of the blocks and had the game plan that led to them dominating the Raiders' side on the score board. Strong running from Cooper Anning and Kane Walsh led to the first try of the game by Nicholas Wright after only a few minutes. In what proved to be a dominant performance in both attack and defence the forward pack of Thomas Shannon, Cye Beer, Charlie Bible and Nic Jones completely outplayed their opposite numbers and set a platform for the backs DJ Kennedy and Isaac Thompson to direct the play around the field.
In a classy run and beating several defenders Nicholas Wright scored an individual try that set the crowd alight. The jets were firing on all cylinders and a try to Jake Barnes in each half after flowing backline movements showed the class of the Narromine team.
The Raiders came back with two tries but the composed Narromine team hit back with tries to Charlie Bible, Reed Hetrick and a third try for the day to Nicholas Wright.
The Jets' outside backs Dean Clarke, Liam Truscott and Jacob Seymour were bombarded by high balls all game which they took with consummate ease. Blockbusting winger Rex Brown was concussed early but still had plenty of energy to celebrate with the team afterwards.
Hard running from Jack Wright, Harry McKinney and Robbie Barling added to the Jets forward momentum with Greg Doyle, Tyron Scott and Jarrod Hennessey all contributing with some staunch defensive efforts during the game.
Player spokesperson Dalton Turner stated the motivation and desire within the team had been a big part in the teams' winning ways throughout the semis, while coach Sam Prosser and manager Ryan Richardson spoke about the extra effort the team had put in for each other all season.
Team spokesperson Nigel (Rooster) Jones stated that for many of the boys the Under 16's competition was the pinnacle of their junior league careers and whilst they had won two previous premierships this one capped it off, also with Nicholas Wright taking out Man of the Match honours and Isaac Thompson receiving the Group 11 Award before the game the Jets are headed upwards in the future.
Mr Jones also thanked the great team of parents who had contributed over several years, also Steven Thompson and Kim Wright who had coached the team for many years.