There's a three way tie at the top of the Westfund Ferguson Cup following the first defeats of the season for the Bathurst Bulldogs and CSU.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Orange Emus have moved to a share of the lead with the two Bathurst clubs following their 46-25 victory over the Bulldogs on home soil, but the greens have jumped to first place thanks to their superior point differential.
CSU also tasted defeat for the first time this year, losing 33-24 at the hands of Narromine Gorillas.
The three clubs sit on 41 points, just four points clear of the chasing West Wyalong Redbacks and Temora Tuskers squads.
Bulldogs were blown off the park over the opening quarter of their game against the Emus and never recovered.
Nikki D'Aquino finished with a hat trick while fellow NSW Country Corellas selections Em McDonald and Jacky Lyden crossed for tries.
Tanya Miller and Tabua Tuinakauvadra also scored in the Emus' most important win of the year.
Bulldogs produced an impressive final 10 minutes of rugby but victory was out well out of their reach by that stage.
Jakiya Whitfield scored a hat trick for the visitors while Edwina Ulberg and Courtney Auld bagged five-pointers.
Bulldogs captain Mel Waterford said her side were taught a lesson in how to turn up prepared for a game.
"Emus just came out in the first five minutes and played our game against us and we just didn't know what to do," she said.
"They just played really well and wanted to win it. We were a bit flat and probably didn't have the best run into it. We had a couple of byes, because of a forefeit, then another bye and a few of the girls who played on the weekend played a lot of minutes.
"But all credit to Emus. They came out hard and it was a good lesson for us."
An injury to Bridie Gordon in the lead up to Saturday's match against Narromine took a key player out of the contest.
CSU coach Dom Hugget said that threw a spanner in the works for his side but couldn't take anything away from a strong Gorillas performance.
"We knew it was going to be tough. Last time we played them we were down at half-time but eventually we got the win. I know their coach, and he's unreal, so I knew with time they'd become a really tough side," he said.
"Bridie controls a lot of our game. We slotted in Steph Doyle, and she did a great job, but we just couldn't get the win.
"It was a great game overall. A few silly errors here and there from us but that's fixable. We learned a lot from it."
Gorillas sit a further 17 points off the Redbacks and Tuskers so the result adds an element of uncertainty to what's been a closely-fought competition.
"It's amazing compared to last year which was practically just us and Bulldogs," Huggett said.
"This year they did the sevens comp during the summer time, and gained a lot of traction for the competition, as did the women's Super Rugby competition.
"We haven't been able to face a lot of the teams due to the draw but next week we have Emus so we're really excited to see what that other half has been doing."
WANT MORE ORANGE AND REGIONAL SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...