The Boars and Gorillas added another chapter to their long history of tight games, with the boys from Narromine emerging victorious 27-20 in a “top of the table” nail biter.
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In a game that finished at three tries a piece, it was the deadly right boot of Doug Potter that proved the difference, kicking 5 from 5 in a flawless display.
Buoyed by some big names returning, Ben Ryans 200th game, and a vocal home crowd on hand for their charity day, Parkes sprung out of the blocks and were first to cross out wide. There was notable size differential through the forward pack in favour of Parkes and they were using this to their advantage early. The Gorillas would have to counteract this with speed and mobility at the breakdown and get the big Boars pack moving laterally.
This they did, and were able to hit back through number 8 Mick Harris when he picked up from the back of an attacking scrum 10 metres out and beat the defence to cross next to the posts. Potter’s conversion had Narromine in the lead 7-5.
Parkes regained the lead shortly after with a penalty kick and extended it further when the Gorillas backline spilled the ball and one of the Parkes speedsters swooped to race 65 metres and score under the posts. The score was at 15-7 and the challenge was set for the visitors.
Keeping the ball in tight, the Gorillas rolled down field and put together 15+ phases, eventually crossing through try scoring machine Charlie Tuck who’s centre of gravity is the only thing lower than this seasons rainfall.
This saw the halftime score at 15-14 to the Boars and the game was well and truly in the balance.
Parkes started the second half in similar fashion to the first, capitalising on errors from Narromine to gain good field position and eventually cross for their third try to extend their lead to 20-15.
There was no panic from the visitors, as they chipped away at the Boars lead, Potter slotting a penalty goal to narrow the margin to 20-17.
With about 10 minutes left on the clock the Gorillas regained the lead when Tuck crossed for his second try off the back of a text book rolling maul from the forward pack.
Potter then kicked his second penalty with only 3 minutes left on the clock, leaving the Boars a sniff of snatching a draw in the dying stages. However, the Gorillas defence held strong and they came away with a hard fought and well-deserved win.
Best on ground performances came from captain Tim Allworth, Jono Sharkey and Keith Maher.
Narromine Gorillas 27
(Charlie Tuck 2, Mick Harris Tries; Doug Potter 3 Conv; 2 Pen)
Def Parkes Boars 20
(3 Tries; 1 Conv; Pen)
Second grade again set the tone for the day with an entertaining match, running out 31-7 winners. Plenty of guys are knocking on the door for first grade starting spots, but it’s hard to break up winning combinations for both grades. Best on ground for the Gorillas were wrecking ball Mitch Rixon who bagged a hattrick, the super experienced Craig Duff, and the pocket rocket Jai Delboux.
