Centre Bounce: Sensational Smith has the golden boot for Bushrangers

Some teams are starting to get their best players back from injury at the right time of the season though the looming threats of winter flu and COVID are always around.

There's just three games of the regular season to go and these are the stories that are making headlines around the region...

NATHAN Smith loves kicking goals - and he's had plenty of those moments to love in his debut AFL Central West season.

After making the move from Sydney, Smith joined the Bathurst Bushrangers and the six-foot-five tall forward did not take long to make an impact.

He booted three majors on debut, eight the week after and ever since he's sat on top of the leading goalkicker table for the men's tier one competition.

The only time Smith played and didn't finish with a goal was in round nine against Dubbo - a game in which he was concussed and forced from the field prior to half-time.

Last Saturday was his first game back after being cleared following that concussion.

He marked it by kicking seven goals against the Bathurst Giants to take his tally to a remarkable 51 for the season thus far.

Dubbo's Isaac Heath is the next best in the tier one count on 33, followed by Smith's team-mate Hugh Templeton with 28.

"I don't necessarily think about leading the goal-kicking or anything like that, my job is definitely to score goals being the key forward, and I love kicking goals," he said.

"That's a reward for the effort we find ourselves putting in, if we put that effort in we know those outcomes will come. Goal-kicking is just a little bit of a cherry on top."

Though there is no doubting Smith's ability to convert from set shots or take a grab inside 50, he said his Bushrangers team-mates play a big part in his success as well, labelling their delivery "first class".

In particular Smith has enjoyed combining with fellow tall timer Templeton and Bushrangers co-coach Tim Hunter to form the most potent forward line in the tier one competition.

"We're a really tight knit group as a forward line and we thrive off other people's success," Smith said.

"In the weeks I wasn't there Hugh stepped up for both those games, he kicked five against Dubbo and kicked a sealer and against Orange he was instrumental, basically being the one-out tall forward. With myself and Timmy on the sideline, he was able to stand out and take the game on.

"The stars have aligned a little bit with us coming to the club at the same time and joining Timmy, he's definitely the leader of the group, he's the experienced head and he's Bushies through and through."

In men's tier two Cowra's Nathan Worth tops the count with 31 goals, of which 18 have come in his last three games.

When it comes to the senior women's competition it is Bathurst Giant Olivia Johnston out in front. After kicking five in last Saturday's win over the Bathurst Lady Bushrangers she's got a total of 31 for the season.

GOING down twice to the Dubbo Demons after a 57-game win streak doesn't have the Bathurst Giants bothered in the run towards AFL Central West finals.

The pair of teams sit locked at the top of the table on 36 points, each fighting for direct passage straight through to the grand final.

What's encouraging for the Bathurst Giants is that they have their strongest group together at the right time of the season, and they'll be confident they can maintain the advantage over their rivals.

While some thing remain out of her team's control Giants coach Liz Kennedy said the side are well positioned for the run towards finals.

"We're exactly where we want to be," she said.

"It's hard to plan for injuries, illness and things like that but we're where we want to be.

"We like to keep in our little bubble and not read too much into what other people are saying about us and instead go about our business, week in and week out."

Get ready for that round 13 Giants vs Demons game in just over a week's time because it's going to be a thriller.

THE Orange Tigers under 12s have been a dominant force throughout the competition so far, and their 8-1 record has taken them to an unassailable lead at the top of their competition.

There's three rounds of the regular season to go and Bathurst Giants are three wins back from the Tigers, but the Orange team's percentage can't be matched.

Zavier Felice has been a standout in front of goal for the Tigers with 20 goals across both his under 12s and 14s matches this year (14 from under 12s alone).

However, don't lock the Tigers in for the title just yet.

Giants managed to overcome the Orange side by two points back in a round two thriller, though the Tigers have been untouchable since that sole defeat.

It's definitely going to take something special to stop the Tigers under 12s from going all the way in 2022.

The Orange Tigers youth girls side are also very close to claiming a minor premiership of their own.

They boast an eight point lead over both the Giants and Bushrangers in their competition, which makes the fight for both first place and second place one to keep an eye on next month.

This weekend is shaping up to be a massive one for the Dubbo Demons both on and off the field as the club celebrates their 40th year.

A three-day celebration and reunion weekend will be the highlight of the AFL Central West competition this week when the Demons host Bathurst Bushrangers in three grades.

While the Bushies have already taken out the minor premiership in the men's Tier 1 competition, Dubbo is still fighting to finish second on the ladder and earn the right to host the semi-final in late August.

With the Bathurst Giants a win behind Dubbo on the ladder, the Demons will need to at least three of their final four matches to be a chance of finishing second.

Off the field, the Demons will be celebrating a milestone for the club as well as reminiscing on the 2000 first and reserve grade premierships along with the 1992 and 2002 reserve grade titles.

The festivities will start on Friday night at the South Dubbo Tavern before the club's three senior grades are in action on Saturday.

Breakfast will be held on Sunday morning as Dubbo Junior AFL play.

WHEN the Bathurst Bushrangers senior men's side battled through the middle of the season it wouldn't have surprised the club if the first defeat of their campaign came their way.

Due to a host of injured players, and enthusiastic Dubbo Demons and Bathurst Giants squads in pursuit, it was going to take some great football to get through it.

But now the Bushrangers have fought through that adversity and it makes the quest for a perfect season feel a little more realistic than it did around three weeks ago.

There's four games of the regular season for the Bushrangers to get through and then the grand final to come - which Bushies have already qualified for.

In last week's 50-point derby win over the Bathurst Giants the Bushrangers had welcomed back several key players, and at this stage it looks like the core group will be reunited in time for the decider.

"We had Tim [Hunter] back, Nathan Smith was back a week earlier than expected from concussion, Tommy Maher was also back. We're slowing progressing in that sense," Bushrangers co-coach Matt Archer said.

"AJ [Andrew James], Kolby [McMahon] and Ben Horn are probably the three ones that we're trying to work back in over the next few weeks.

"We don't want to lose momentum as we're rolling into finals. We want to keep going with the same mentality that we've got, and now that we've got through this hard patch we can hopefully get a really good roll on heading into the grand final."

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