A round of applause for all those who helped organise and took part in Woodbridge Cup's first ever competition-wide Indigenous Round.
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For a few years now, Condobolin and Peak Hill have held their own celebration. But 2023 marked the first year the league as a whole jumped on board.
What a sight it was to see.
Each of the 12 clubs donned some sort of apparel to mark the occasion, with Orange United going for the full kit not only for their senior sides, but the juniors as well.
Warriors president, Jason French, was full of praise for Woodbridge organisers to help get this off the ground.
"It was good to see all clubs get behind it with jerseys, socks, welcome to countries and dances," he said.
"Well done to Woodbridge on adopting the Indigenous Round."
Orange United has its own strong Indigenous identity and French said the players were "over the moon" at being able to represent their culture.
"It's also good for our players to come together and be acknowledged," he added.
"With Cargo as well, they have quite a few Indigenous players who play for them and have done for over the years. They said it was a great initiative and it gave them a day to honour their current and former Indigenous players."
Peak Hill and Condobolin set the standard for how an Indigenous Round should be played and fingers crossed this won't be the last we see of it in the Woodbridge Cup.
"It also brings non-Indigenous players, family and friends together so it's good for reconciliation," French added.
"It's good for us to acknowledge not just our rugby league players, but out community members who step up and everyone who makes clubs work.
"I think overall it's been a great concept and a good acknowledgement of what our Indigenous players contribute to sport."
Key man returns to the fold
Ronnie Lawrence hadn't played a minute of regular season football in 2023 prior to Saturday's game against Eugowra.
Canowindra's captain-coach injured himself in a pre-season tournament at the back end of March and had been out ever since.
Initially it was hoped that, best case scenario, Lawrence would be back on the field with six weeks to go in the season.
Although that time-frame didn't quite come to fruition, the skipper did sub himself on for a short period towards the back-end of their 70-10 win on July 9.
"It felt good," he said.
"The boys were all excited for me to get back out there. We obviously had a big win, but to get a few minutes there at the end was good."
The decision to wait a few extra weeks to get back on the park was made easier by the fact that the Tigers have hit a purple patch of form, with victories against Grenfell and Manildra prior to the game against the Golden Eagles.
The true test for the Tigers will come in the final three weeks of the competition.
A road trip to Condobolin to take on the ladder-leading Rams (equal with Manildra) will be followed up by re-matches against the Goannas and Rhinos.
With Canowindra sitting one point behind joint first place, three wins from their final three games would almost certainly see the Tigers finish as minor premiers.
While this would be nice, Lawrence said it's not the be all and end all.
"As long as we're playing finals we're in with a chance," he added.
Power rankings
Each week we will take a look at which teams have been lighting up the first grade and league tag competitions, alternating between the two.
For those unfamiliar with a power ranking ladder, it's similar to your conventional standings, except it's completely subjective and based on who we think is in the best form, regardless of their points total.
This week we look at where first grade is up to after 11 rounds.
Condobolin - 36-30 win over Peak Hill
Canowindra - 70-10 win over Eugowra
Manildra - 62-0 win over Molong
Trundle - 30-16 win over Grenfell
Oberon - 32-4 win over CSU
Orange United - 28-12 win over Cargo
Peak Hill
Grenfell
CSU
Cargo
Eugowra
Molong
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