Mayhem in the mud and big guns go toe-to-toe to inspire their sides

The Panthers were trying to mount a comeback when down 30-6 at one point and were doing a good job of it, clawing things back to 30-22 with a little over five minutes to go.

After all was said and done CYMS found themselves a try in that timeframe to quash the comeback.Rules for reserve grade state that there is no stopping of the clock (with some exceptions, such as a serious injury).

However, there is an exception for the final 10 minutes of the second half, and that wasn't adhered to.The clock continued to run through the late delays in the game, including a fight in the final minutes that saw a Panthers player sent off and a Dubbo CYMS player sent to the sin bin.

Would the extra time have been enough to get Panthers home?

You wouldn't think so, but it's one for scorers and timekeepers across the competition to be aware of for the remainder of the season.

It's the premier ground in Dubbo but the surface at Apex Oval had seen better days after Macquarie's match against Mudgee finished on Sunday afternoon.

After New Holland Cup rugby union on Friday to Western Premier League soccer on Saturday, Apex Oval had seen its fair share of action.

But on Sunday, it started to look borderline dangerous.

A handful of players were slipping and picking up slight knocks as the games went on with one Macquarie reserve grade player carried from the field at the end of the match.

It's an annual tradition in Orange, when Wade Park decides to turn into a pig sty.

Usually it takes until the depths of winter for the cricket pitch to give up the ghost but we were treated to an early taster in round two.

CYMS and Forbes did battle in some throwback conditions with mud caking players' jerseys or in the case of Ethan McKellar, head to toe.

Despite the horrible conditions a decent crowd packed out the grandstand and the Old Boys area near the bar was well stocked.

Credit goes also to the travelling Magpie fans who made sure the referees heard every little bit of...advice... they had to offer.

There were plenty of entertaining individual battles during Mudgee and Macquarie's clash but none caught our eye more than two gun centres taking each other on.

Mudgee's David West and Macquarie's Tyson Fuller are two of the better centres going around in the competition which made Sunday's match a good watch.

West may have gotten the better of Fuller by scoring a try early in the game but Fuller produced some nice moments and arguably should have scored a try himself but the ball was dropped.

In the middle of the park, Clay Priest and Jack Kavanagh went toe-to-toe and the aggressive forwards did their best to inspire their teams.