As 2019 draws to a close so does the last decade of sport around the world and, of course, here in Orange and the Central West where the last 10 years, between 2010 and 2019, have largely been a story of success.
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Orange's teams, athletes, clubs, administrators and supporters have tasted success in virtually every sport and every level, a remarkable period by anyone's standards.
But with light comes dark too, and with the new year and new decade looming we'll be taking a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly - very ugly, in one case - from the last 10 years.
Part One reflected on some of the great individual and team performances, some magic moments and one gigantic shock, leading into Part Two.
THE DARKEST DAY...
This still lingers in the memories of Group 10 fans in Orange and the Central West, the infamous local derby brawl between Hawks and CYMS at Endeavour Oval in 2011.
The game was stopped 25 minutes early and the referee was attacked, and the brawl resulted in Hawks being punted for the remainder of the season, CYMS being slapped with a hefty fine, years worth of suspensions being handed down and a spectator being charged.
More than anything irreparable damage was done to the game in what was undeniably one of the darkest days in Orange sporting history, not just in the last decade either.
WHAT WAS SAID: "I've never seen anything like it. It was pretty embarrassing, I think from both sides ... It was not real good at all for rugby league. That's just not on in any way." - Former Hawks captain-coach Todd Barrow.
THE NEXT BIG THINGS...
When the Central Western Daily first came across Eva Reith-Snare and Phoebe Litchfield in their early teenage years they were shy and certainly not used to media attention, they didn't really know what to say and didn't understand the fuss.
They were just playing the games they loved, after all.
They still are, but since roaring through the ranks in Orange and beyond they've both exploded onto the international scene recently and the sky looks the limit for both young women.
A regular in under-age NSW indoor and field hockey sides, what looks Reith-Snare's big break came in 2019 when Karri Somerville was promoted to the Hockeyroos squad and the Confederates product took her spot in the Jillaroos side.
She made her Australian under-21 debut against New Zealand earlier this month.
Litchfield had the choice of chasing a career in hockey or cricket after representing NSW in both, she chose the former and has since represented the Australian under 19s despite being just 15 at the time, and more recently has broken Women's Big Bash League records and earned a nod in Australia A's One-Day International and Twenty20 squads.
WHAT WAS SAID: "It's crazy, I'm just playing cricket I had no idea what it would be like ... but it's all really exciting." Phoebe Litchfield
THE COMEBACK...
They were rank underdogs on the day, they were behind at every break and heading into the final quarter of the 2018 AFL Central West grand final the Orange Tigers trailed Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels by almost five goals, 27 points to be completely exact.
They were dead in the water at George Park basically, you don't win from there... except the Tigers did.
With the help of a 50-metre penalty Chris Rothnie slotted the first major of that final term and, with the ever-so-wonderful hindsight, that goal undeniably set the tone for the remainder of the quarter.
He hit the post shortly after before his older brother Mick slotted another major and with a handful of rushed behinds too, the Tigers were back within two goals of their fierce rivals.
Alexander Sparks pegged one back for the Bushrangers but momentum had swung enough for Lucas Kelly and Chris Pethybridge to both snap majors and push the black and golds in reaching distance of the most-remarkable of wins.
Incredibly in the end they didn't even need the entire quarter to seal it either, Andrew Henry's match-winning goal came with almost three minutes left on the clock.
The comeback win was so good, many rate it higher than the Tigers' three-peat of flags in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as the club's brightest moment of the last decade.
WHAT WAS SAID: "We had to come back out and believe in ourselves and we did ... but we dug deep in those last few minutes to win the game." - Tigers skipper Luke Thorley
THE EVENT...
There's been no shortage of gigantic events hosted in Orange through the last 10 years - think NRL, A-League and Big Bash League trial games, local derby grand finals, national championships and National Rugby Championship fixtures.
But Sam Ah-See's national title fight against Shannon 'Shaggy' King at the Orange Function Centre in February of 2014 was just something else.
Not even just the fight either, the lead-up was manic.
The two pulled no punches, so to speak, in the months and days leading up to the bout, trash-talking their way through every media call before squaring off for the Australian National Boxing Federation super-welterweight title.
"Shaggy's O has got to go" and "he's slow as a sloth, he won't touch me" were two of Ah-See's better jabs at the previously-undefeated Brisbane fighter.
King made his point very early on in proceedings, saying "I don't even know what he looks like, nor do I care" along with "I don't think he will ever have been hit as hard as I'll hit him ... I'm coming there to knock him out" before he'd even arrived in Orange.
The excitement on the night reached fever-pitch early on, with good-quality undercard bouts preceeding one of the best fights you'd ever hope to see in a regional area, which Ah-See ended up winning in a split decision.
With it, he became just the just the second man to win an Australian title fight in Orange after Billy Moeller, whom many drew comparisons with.
Although not quite as a grand an occassion, Ah-See's second fight in Orange against Arnel Tinampay in 2015 was also one of the decade's best, and interesting events.
WHAT WAS SAID: "The crowd here was unbelievable. It's been years in the making, it'll go down in history." - Sam Ah-See
THE GAME-CHANGER...
Granted he actually signed with Orange CYMS before the season began but Mick Sullivan's first season in charge of the green and golds was at the turn of the decade in 2010 and, even then, you could feel something building.
Few would've predicted what was to come, but there was a real sense of excitement about the club and Group 10 in general after the former Northern Eagles, Cronulla, Warrington and Canterbury halfback landed at Orange fresh from the NRL.
He brought with him a professionalism rarely, if ever seen in the competition and immediately demanded nothing short of almost-perfection from his green and golds, sparking a pretty incredible transformation in just one year.
CYMS won just two games to finish second last in 2009 but after Sullivan's signature lured a handful of other high-profile players to, and back to the club, they won the premiership in 2010, the first of five they'd claim through the decade.
Sullivan brought plenty of players into the fold to spark success which, in turn, created a culture and atmosphere where local juniors made a point of staying with the club and that went on to form the model for the club's stunning run.
It's a model most clubs in Group 10 have followed since.
WHAT WAS SAID: "It's just beautiful ... he will not only be a huge asset to the club, but also to the Orange community." - CYMS' then-president Ray Agland.
THE FORGOTTEN HEROES...
Like Jason Belmonte in the sport of tenpin, Pete Brus is quite the literally the best pistol shooter on the planet and yet his profile doesn't even match up to Orange's best in more mainstream sports like rugby league, rugby union, cricket or netball.
While the profile of the sport is lifting and Brus is doing everything he can to help that even he admits he's not one to seek the spotlight but his achievements over the last decade must be acknowledged, particularly those in recent years.
Earlier in the decade Brus, together with his father Dean, set about breaking countless records at the state, national and international levels and they became the first father-son duo to shoot together on a number of occasions on different stages too.
Their achievements together are something to behold and Dean has sparkled throughout his career too, but with an eye on carving his path individually Pete has gone to another level in recent years, in 2019 in particular.
It's pretty surreal ... it's really, really nice to not be the bridesmaid anymore.
- Pete Brus
This year the 23-year-old claimed his first individual world titles in the WA1500 Revolver and WA48 Revolver events at the Bowral-hosted world championships, also claiming a teams title alongside his father and a world teams title as part of the Australian team with Chris Banfield.
They came after finishing second on a number of occasions and, of course, he set new marks and broke records once again in the process.
WHAT WAS SAID: "It's pretty surreal. No Australian has ever won the main match in the 1500 and no-one's ever won two (individual titles) ... it's really, really nice to not be the bridesmaid anymore." - Pete Brus
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