The Forbes Magpies were lucky to come away with a win over Parkes Spacemen on Sunday at Spooner Oval, when they defeated second ranked Parkes Spacemen 24-22, the first time they have beaten their rivals in six years.
In front of the biggest crowd to have assembled at Spooner in many years, both teams put on a show that did not leave any spectators disappointed.

In a game close to their heart, competition between Parkes and Forbes was at an all time high as they battled it out in the final round of the home-and-away season for the annual Brendon ‘Stubby’ Collits Memorial Cup. Forbes were extremely resilient throughout the match, managing to fight back after allowing Parkes to lead three times during the
match. They were led exceptionally by First Grade Captain-Coach Zac Merritt, who was well supported by Ben Robinson, Jake Grace and Ethan Gaffney.

The Magpies had the ball on a string it seemed, with an impressive try scored by Bailey Hartwig, who was called up from under 18s to fill a position on the wing, which opened the scoreboard 16 minutes in. Parkes were quick to respond off an Alex Prout bomb, which saw Jesse Parker and Billy Burns combine to tie up the scores at 6-6 at half time. Parkes came out firing in the second half and saw Billy Burns cross out wide unopposed to bring Parkes into the lead for the first time in the game at 10-6.

Forbes were able to answer six minutes later with Joe Coe diving on a grubber in the corner to even the score. Parkes scored twice more, with credits to Alex Prout and Brendan Paige, however the Magpies continued to hang on and tries to Jake Grace and Zac Merritt saw them in a nail biting 22 all position, with half\ Carl Johnson unsuccessful in an attempt at a field goal with minutes to go. As the siren sounded, Parkes Captain- Coach Dennis Moran was penalised in front of the posts, allowing Johnson to kick the winning two points in a controversial ending, as the Magpies home crowd celebrated.

The game was a perfect finish to a great day of football, that in other games saw the Magpies League Tag girls beaten 12-0, Under 18s went down 16-8, however the Magpies Group 11 Reserve Grade Premiers put on a clinic and defeated Parkes 44 -6. The Minor premiership honours taken out by Magpies under 18s and Reserve grade
teams, has earned them a weeks rest, while the Magpies First Grade and League Tag teams will head to Caltex Park Dubbo on Saturday to take on Dubbo Westside and Wellington respectively in the elimination Semi Finals.
First game will be League Tag from 12pm. The Magpies encourage all supporters to head over to Dubbo and cheer the teams on into the next round of semis.

It wasn’t their prettiest win of the season, but the Magpies were able to hold onto fourth position on the ladder on Sunday when they defeated Dubbo Macquarie Raiders 32-20. The win keeps the Magpies in the hunt for a top three finish, and gives the team high hopes for their game against the Parkes Spacemen this Sunday.

With the Magpies resting a few key players, including Ben Maguire and Matt Roylance in preparation for the local derby against the Spacemen this weekend, they had to pull out all stops against Macquarie, who were coming off a heated 32-30 win against Westside the previous week. Macquarie started well getting the first points on the board when Steven Leask crossed out wide in the first 3 minutes, taking them to a 4-0 lead.

That would be the only time Macquarie led the entire game however, with Magpies Captain-Coach Zac Merritt making a strong break through the centre to score just outside the posts and a successful conversion from Hayden Bolam, followed quickly by another from in-form lock, Ethan Gaffney, who was named the Magpies best player on the day.

Some fancy footwork from Kyle Baxter saw the Magpies increase the Margin and take a 16-4 lead into halftime. Early in the second half, Macquarie’s Claude Gordon crossed for a four pointer narrowing the gap to 16-10, but momentum and smarter football with tries to Joel Davie and Tys Reweti saw the Magpies stretch their lead and walk away with the win.

It was a big day for the Magpies, who earlier took out under-18s by 22-12 before their reserve grade side battled bravely with 12 men for the final stages of the match but still managed to grab a gutsy 20-18 win, confirming both teams as 2015 Minor Premiers. “The Reserve Grade win was one of the best I have seen in some time,” Magpies Club President Greg Grogan said. “They were effectively down to 10 men, two of them just managed to stay on the field to make up the numbers, it was a huge effort”.

The Magpies encourage everyone to head over to Spooners Oval this Sunday to support the Magpies in the highly anticipated Local Derby against the Parkes Spacemen this Sunday, which is also The Magpies Old Boys Day and Sponsors Day. Gates open from 10:30, with League Tag the first game of the day kicking off at 11am.

In a disappointing turn for local football fans, the Forbes Magpies have slipped to fourth place on the Group 11 Rugby League Ladder following a 32-26 loss to the Wellington Cowboys last weekend. In their earlier games, the Magpies had proved unbeatable. They had convincing wins in the women’s League Tag tournament, and the Under 18s and Reserve grades are sitting pretty in first place on the ladder with only two rounds remaining before the semi-finals begin.

Unfortunately, the Magpies’ First Grade team were forced to work much harder in their match s the game was a crucial “mustwin” tournament for both teams who were jostling for third position on the ladder. Running out to the tough Kennard Park crowd, the Cowboys took the leader quite early, crossing over with a quick succession of tries.
The Magpies were not to be deterred though, and their forwards pack led the charge back up through the middle of the paddock with the strong forwards pack gaining much needed distance for the Forbes team. This gave Ethan Gaffney the chance to get some points on the board for the Magpies.

The momentum swung the Magpies way with Rusiate Luwanikula crossing out wide. But it wasn’t quite enough with the Cowboys so thirsty for the win. The contest was tough and there was plenty on the line; out came the hard hits and the ugly niggles. The contest in the ruck resulted in a blow for Forbes with Zac Merritt sent off the field
for 10 after a contentious tackle. The Magpies were a man down and Wellington took the advantage. The Cowboys were able to score another two tries before the half-time siren sounded, taking them into the break with a 12 point lead.

The Magpies were desperate to get back into the game as they returned from the sheds after the break, sending Jake Grace, Joel Davie and Ben Robinson all over for tries. Hooker Hayden Bolam was successful in converting three of the five opportunities but fate was already sealed, with the Cowboys walking away with the win. The final score of
the game was 32-26.

This weekend the Magpies are looking to take back the two points they’ve just lost by heading to Caltex Oval in Dubbo to take on the 7th placed Dubbo Macquarie Raiders. This will be another very important game for
the Forbes side if they are hoping to remain in the top four teams in the competition.

The Raiders were unable to field a League Tag side so the first fixture of the day will be the Under 18s team, kicking off at 11:30am. On the following weekend, the Magpies will host the Parkes Spacemen at Spooners Oval in a much anticipated local derby. Get out there and show your support for
the team.

The formidable Forbes Magpies faced off against the Cobar Roosters on Saturday July 18. The First Grade team put on a powerful show and won their game with a score of 56-32. The League Tag team had a tight match, but won the day with a score of 14-12. The Reserves won their game with a score of 44-14 and the Under 18s team had a bye.