Central West Rugby Union’s Westfund Ferguson Cup is heating up, in a big way.
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Based on its dominant, unbeaten start to the season many already had West Wyalong pegged has a lock for the minor title but after Bathurst Bulldogs sensationally handed the Redbacks their first defeat of 2018, a new top dog emerged.
It’s not Bulldogs either, it’s CSU Bathurst, which signals the fact the title race is now officially wide open.
While Bulldogs were edging out the Redbacks 29-20 in Saturday’s clash of the reigning Blowes Clothing Cup and GrainCorp Cup women’s premiers, respectively, CSU was taking down Temora 52-28.
Combined, the two results catapulted the students to the top of the table.
With seven wins from eight starts, CSU is now four points clear of the second-placed Redbacks, although the latter side does have a game in hand.
“Bulldogs have done us a bit of a favour there,” CSU head coach Luke Kelly laughed, before lauding his women’s side and its mentor Dom Huggett.
“Dom’s doing a wonderful job with the women’s side and they’re going great guns, playing some really exciting rugby on the field, really enjoying it and embracing the culture off the field too.
“The club’s in a really good position that way, we’ve put a pretty heavy focus on promoting the women’s game and bringing CSU back to where it used to be, and it’s great to see that paying off.
“Fingers crossed they can continue their success and be a real contender come the back end of the season too.”
The only loss the students have suffered this year came at the hands of the Redbacks, a 69-5 defeat back in round three, and should the two sides meet again that potential blockbuster won’t come until the finals.
“Our women’s side has improved dramatically since that loss, I’m sure all the girls would love to get another crack at West Wyalong too, who are a great side, but we can’t look that far ahead,” Kelly said.
“The focus for Dom and the girls will just be continuing that improvement, that should hopefully continue translating to wins.”
There’s not much separating the chasing pack either, with Bulldogs just one point further back and Cowra another four behind them.
Orange Emus have jumped to fifth after a 36-0 win over Dubbo Rhinos on Saturday, the greens’ third victory in the last month, and are just four points adrift of the top four, while Mudgee, Cootamundra and Temora are all still firmly in the finals frame as well.
Dubbo Rhinos, Orange City and Harden round out the standings.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
