Scott Jablonskis brings up 200th match for Bathurst Bushrangers

Jablonskis and his teammates didn't get the result they were hoping for in their derby against Bathurst Giants but that didn't take the shine off the occasion, as Bushrangers celebrated a fantastic first grade career that began back in 2007.

Jablonskis said one of the best things about being involved in the Bushrangers continuously over the past 14 years has been the chance to see the club evolve and reach new heights.

"My first game of first grade was in 2007, so that's going some time back," he said.

"Over the course of that time we've gone from just a playing field with a toilet block to having the huge facility that we now have. That was a huge moment in the club's history.

"The other highlights would be the premierships I've been a part of, but I'd say the best moment in recent years was actually a premiership that I wasn't a part of, in 2017. That was when we had to split the club into two teams.

"We managed to win that one, and I was vice-president that year. That was such a rewarding day because we showed how strong we were as a club to be able to achieve something like that."

Jablonskis and his teammates now have a two game deficit to Bathurst Giants in the race for the minor premiership but the camp is keeping optimistic in the run towards finals.

"We're just going along at the moment - maybe not as steadily as well would have liked - and there's been countless disruptions this year, although we can't blame anything like that on how we're going," he said.

"We know where we've got to be, and obviously Giants are setting the benchmark at the moment, but we saw Dubbo knock Orange off over the weekend and Orange are capable of doing that to any team on their day as well.

"The competition is in a strong spot, even though there's only four teams. We just have to stick to the training track and keep improving each week. Everyone's up for it, we've just got to start putting a few things together on the paddock.

"I think that we'll still be there when the whips are cracking."

Bushrangers weren't able to hold on to their two-point lead which they had built up at half-time.

Stumbling upon goals in Saturday's game was akin to discovering treasure, such was the difficulty of playing in Saturday's conditions.

Giants were able to outscore the Bushrangers by only four goals to two in the second half to come away with a 7-6-48 to 5-11-41 win.

Sam Sloan top scored for the Giants with three goals while Jai Bellamy kicked two for the Bushrangers.

Giants lead the way on 28 points with Bushrangers on 20 points, while Dubbo's success on the weekend brought them level with the Tigers on eight.

Bushrangers will look to bounce back next Saturday when they travel to face Orange at Waratahs.

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