Three of our young local rugby league players, Mitchell Andrews, Matt Nicholson and Charlie Staines, were selected into NSW Country Representative teams after playing= in the grand finals of the AAMI Country Championships in Tamworth on the weekend. Mitchell Andrews, along with five of his Western Rams U/18’s team mates were selected in the NSW U/18’s Country side that will compete in Perth later in the year in a curtain raiser to the Manly v’s Warriors clash. The U/18 Western Rams had success in the lead up to the grand final under the watchful eye of local coach, Cameron Greenhalgh, but were unable to overcome the strength of the Bidgee Bulls on the day. The U/16 Western Rams had a closer finish against the Greater Northern Tigers, tied at 12 all with just 20 seconds to go the
Tigers scored to take claim the trophy. The loss in the grand final did not deter selectors from naming six of the Rams in the NSW U/16’s Country Team including two of Forbes’ own, Matt Nicholson and Charlie Staines.

Both players and their families were elated with their selections and excited at the prospect of being coached by former NRL player, Andrew Ryan, before travelling to Samoa in October. Both boys have schoolboy representative commitments at Red Bend Catholic College for Matt and Forbes High School for Charlie along with club commitments at Red Bend Junior Rugby League and Forbes Magpies Junior Rugby League that they will coordinate with the extra representative schedule. Matt has also signed with St George for 2017 and will continue to put in the hard yards with the hope of turning his passion into a career.

The Dubbo CYMS may have won the last two Group 11 competitions, but the Forbes Magpies will be confident of an upset, after smashing the Wellington Cowboys 48-10 last week. That performance followed an equally as good defeat of Dubbo Westside in round one, with the black-and-white side triumphing 52-22.

It has been an almost flawless start to the season by the Magpies, who have already scored 100 points in just two rounds, and have charged to the top of the ladder. While CYMS will be no easy-beats, having downed Narromine 64 10 last week, the Magpies forwards have been able to dominate their opposition in both matches so far this season, and Magpies Director of Coaching Cameron Greenhalgh said this would make them a tough side to beat.

“We’ve probably got one of, if not the best, forward packs in the competition,” he said. “Once they get a bit of a roll on, they’re pretty hard to pull back. We’ve probably just got to start playing off the back of what they do, and we’ll put on a little bit more.” “If they can keep that going for the full 80 minutes, Forbes will be pretty hard to beat.”

Greenhalgh said CYMS were a big and mobile side that had great line speed, and the Magpies had to match that to take the two points. “We’ve got to control the ball and keep the football off them as much as we can, and try to tire them out with our big forwards, and hopefully we can get the momentum,” he said.

“Both sides will be looking at going into the bye round with three wins under their belts, so it should be a good contest.” Kick-off will be at 4pm at Spooner Oval in Forbes.

The Forbes Magpies lead the Country Rugby League Group 11 competition after the first round, after demolishing Dubbo Westside 52-22 at Spooner Oval last Sunday afternoon. Despite potentially being without two players for this Sunday’s clash against the Wellington Cowboys in Wellington, their big win would certainly have boosted their confidence.

Zack Merritt was unlucky in the 75th minute of the Westside clash, picking up
a groin injury in the dying stages of the match, and he will unlikely be available to face Wellington. The other injury was picked up by centre Mike Mitchell, who injured his ankle. It is unknown as to whether he will be able to take the field this Sunday.

Magpies President Greg Grogan said the injuries was the only low point for the Forbes team, which came out guns blazing in round one. “They scored some really good tries and came up with some good set plays, and they were able to run away with the game,” he said. “They were a bit scrappy in the first half, but they fixed that up and really got going in the second half, which is a great sign moving forward.”

Grogan said it would be important for the Magpies to stick to captain/coach Jake Grace’s game plans moving forward throughout the season. “We may be off to a good start and on top of the ladder already, but it’s only round one,” he said. “The players showed last weekend that when they stick to Grace’s game plans, they play much better. There was a period where they seemed to just follow the opposition a bit, but when they went back to the game plan, they played much better.”

Wellington was beaten convincingly by the Parkes Spacemen 38-18 last weekend, and this would hold Forbes as favourites for their match. Meanwhile, the Forbes Magpies womens league tag side also came away with a win last Sunday. The reserve grade side went down to
Westside in their clash, and the under 18s side fell short of their first win as well.

In first grade, other results saw the Narromine Jets edge out the Nyngan Tigers 36-32, while Dubbo CYMS just beat local rivals Dubbo Macquarie 24 22. Besides the Magpies’ fixture against Wellington, next Sunday will see Dubbo CYMS ake on Narromine, Dubbo Westside locking horns with neighbours Dubbo Macquarie, and the Parkes Spacemen hosting the Nyngan Tigers.

The Forbes Magpies ran away with their final trial match of 2016 to send a strong message to the Group 11 competition this year. Despite some lazy period in the first half, the Magpies destroyed the Wellington Cowboys 56-22 in Wellington last Saturday.

The win came after they comfortably put away neighbours the Parkes Spacemen 38-16, while they also put on strong displays in their wins against Bathurst St Patricks, and the sides they beat on their way to the West Wyalong knock-out semi-final.

They were also one of the better sides in the recent Parkes Nines competition. Magpies President Greg Grogan said with a Group 11 round one bye this weekend, the Magpies were feeling confident heading into round two against the Cowboys in Wellington.

“It was over 30 degrees up in Wellington last Saturday, and the players did well to play like they did in the heat,” he said. “It was a really strong outing from our forwards, and they’re looking good for this season. But the whole side put on a really good attacking performance. They scored five or six tries in the second half alone.”

After scoring early in the first half, Grogan said the Magpies got lazy in defence, allowing Wellington back into the contest. But he said a half time lecture by captain/ coach Jake Grace brought the best out of them in the second stanza. The under 18s side also played in Wellington, but put in an effort Grogan said was well below their capabilities, coming home with a 28-10 loss.

Meanwhile the Magpies will officially launch their season at the Forbes Sport and Recreation Club tonight (Friday April 15). The launch will include dinner as well as music, drinks, and an auctioning of the first grade players’ jerseys to raise money for the club. The launch will start at 6.30pm, and Grogan said anyone is welcome to attend.