There was always the feeling Hawks and CYMS were on a collision course to meet at some stage in the finals, with both sides firing the entire Group 10 premier league season seemed to be building towards an all-Orange play-off.
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That’s exactly what we’ve got at Wade Park this weekend.
It’s a big enough game already with both sides gunning for a crack at Cowra and grand final hosting rights, but Sunday’s qualifying final will also be the first time the two sides have met in the post-season since 2013’s decider.
That game was almost five years ago to the day, with CYMS winning 24-14. That win earned them redemption from the local derby major semi-final, which Hawks won 12-11 in sensational fashion.
Brock McGarity landed a 45-metre penalty goal with just seconds remaining on the clock to seal Hawks’ major semi-final win but, of course, he’ll line up in green and gold on Sunday.
So will Joe Lasagavibau, who played fullback for Hawks in 2013.
“I remember that kick, I’d shanked one from pretty much straight in front earlier in the game but Timmy (Mortimer, Hawks’ then captain-coach) said we’d have a crack and she went over,” McGarity, who may take the kicking duties again on Sunday, said.
“Hopefully this one doesn’t one doesn’t come down a kick like that.”
McGarity and Lasagavibau are two of a handful of players left from the last all-Orange finals clash, Kyle Byrnes and Sam Coyte were also in Hawks’ side while Mick Sullivan, Dom Maley, Matt Penny, Semisi Tupou and Cam Jones were in CYMS’.
They’ll all line up again on Sunday, with both sides naming as close to full-strength outfits as possible.
CYMS are obviously without Tom Satterthwaite and will be for the remainder of the season, while Hawks haven’t named Country under-23 prop Ethan McKellar, who suffered a leg injury against Mudgee last weekend.
“It’s good that we’ve got virtually everyone on deck now, rather than how we were in the middle of the season with all those injuries,” McGarity said.
The shares have been spoiled in this year’s derbies so far, with Hawks winning the first 42-40 and CYMS emphatically claiming the second 38-10.
CYMS’ win in the latter game was born from a stunning defensive effort, which the green and golds turned into attacking momentum, and it’s been no secret it’s that aspect of the game that acts as a catalyst for the reigning premiers.
“We’re all feeling pretty good, I think we should be right. Defence is what tends to win these games and we’ve been pretty good there the last few weeks,” McGarity said.
“I’m not actually all that sure about Hawks at the moment, I didn’t play the last derby and haven’t seen them since.”
Sunday’s qualifying final kicks off at 2.15pm at Wade Park, the winner will face Cowra in next weekend’s major semi-final while the loser will play either Bathurst Panthers or the Oberon Tigers in the minor.
- ORANGE CYMS: 1 Lachie Munro, 2 Travis Adelerhof, 3 Joe Lasagavibau, 4 Dom Maley, 5 Semisi Tupou, 6 Luke Petrie, 7 Mick Sullivan, 8 Cam Jones ©, 9 Ryan Griffin, 10 Kyle Fraser, 11 Brock McGarity, 12 Chris Grevsmuhl, 13 Matt Penny; Bench: 14 Adam Stanford, 15 Rob Mortimer, 16 Jerome Harrison, 17 Joe Duffy
- ORANGE HAWKS: 1 Jackson Coote, 2 Eman Rodriguez, 3 Kyle Robbins, 4 Corey Brown, 5 Jordan Baker, 6 Willie Heta ©, 7 Jake Blimka, 8 Sam Coyte, 9 Glen Maxwell, 10 Saul Houma, 11 Rakai Tuheke, 12 Talon Hodge, 13 Kyle Byrnes; Bench: 14 Liam Brodrick, 15 Sia Nemani, 16 Brett Morgan, 17 Tatafu Na’aniumotu
- Referee: Nick Lander
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.
