Following their victory in Saturdays elimination final against the Mudgee Wombats, the Narromine Gorillas Second grade side will be joining First grade on Grand Final day at Cale Oval this Saturday.
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This is a massive achievement to have both teams into the big dance, and there is a great chance of further success for both grades.
First grade will face the Parkes Boars for an astonishing fifth time this season, after the Boars downed CSU Bathurst in an extra-time thriller at North Parkes Oval on Saturday.
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The current head-to-head between the teams reads 4-0 but there have been some close encounters in those victories for the Gorillas, and they know they’ll have to be on song this weekend.
The loss of mercurial halfback Jono Sharkey to a broken thumb is a big blow for the Gorillas, but his replacement, Ryan Pratten has a wealth of big game experience and will slot in seamlessly this week.
Sharkey has been among the Gorillas and the competitions best players again this season, and it is a cruel misfortune for him to miss such an important game.
Besides Sharkey, the Gorillas have enjoyed the week off and will head into the game at full strength and full of confidence on the back of their most recent win against Parkes only two weeks ago.
Coach Craig Campbell is confident but wary heading into Saturdays decider.
“This week at training is all about keeping our consistency and momentum rolling,” Campbell said.
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“What we’ve been doing so far this season has been working so all we need to do is build on that, because we know Parkes will be gunning for us.”
However Campbell admitted that this is not just another game of rugby.
“That being said, its not every year that you get to play in, let alone host a grand final, so we’ll be trying to enjoy the week as much as possible,” Campbell added.
Second Grade will face the Blayney Rams in their decider, with the Rams being the only team to defeat the Gorillas in 2018, having done so in three of their four meetings, the latest being a 13-15 defeat for the Gorillas in week one of the finals.
The two teams have been the standouts in the second grade competition and will no doubt put on a fitting display come Saturday.
This weekend gates open 12.30pm with kickoff times for Second and First grade, 1.40pm and 3.15pm respectively.
Going to the game on Saturday send your photos to Zack at the Narromine News by emailing zaarkacha.marlan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
