Orange City remains in the box seat to claim the last available Blowes Clothing Cup finals spot after thumping Mudgee on Saturday, although the clash was marred by an ugly brawl which forced it to be called off a few minutes from full-time.
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With the Lions leading 47-5 a fight broke out, a handful of players from either side getting involved.
Although there was no cards handed out, the incident did lead to Orange City skipper Logan Brockmann and his Mudgee counterpart agreeing to call time on the round 17 fixture.
“We sort of looked at each other and said that was enough. It certainly wasn’t something anyone wants to see on a rugby field,” Brockmann said, preferring not to comment further on that part of the game.
While it remains unclear if there will be any sanctions handed down from the scuffle, the 42-point win keeps Orange City’s fate firmly in its own hands.
The Lions stay in fifth as a result, two points clear of Cowra, and only need to take down Parkes in the final round to seal a place in the elimination semi-final, which is where they bowed out of the title race in 2016.
Although Cowra did earn a bonus point win, the two-point buffer the Lions have means they don’t need to secure one themselves against the Boars.
A win, no matter how big or small, will be enough.
“It’s nice to know that we’re not relying on any other results, and we’re pretty confident of getting the job done,” Brockmann said.
“It’s not the easiest trip going over there but we’re playing pretty well and I noticed (Dubbo) Rhinos beat [the Boars] in Parkes on the weekend as well.
“So, fingers crossed we can find out patterns, keep playing well and get another win.”
Brockmann labelled Saturday’s win over Mudgee “scrappy”.
“It was scrappy, it was actually a little bit hard to get into the game at times but we did find our way eventually,” he said.
“Once we got into our patterns and started playing with a bit of structure we were able to find some rhythm and ran away with it a bit after that.
“It’s never an easy trip over to the Burrow, you never really know what Mudgee will bring, so we’re pleased to come away with that result.”
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
