Three send-offs and a potentially career-ending injury marred an otherwise thrilling Group 11 qualifying final at Nyngan’s Larkin Oval on Sunday.
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The Tigers played host to Dubbo Macquarie and ran out 32-22 winners to set up a major semi-final at Caltex Park against minor premiers CYMS next Sunday, but that was only half the story.
A brawl broke out midway through the second half following a spear tackle on Raiders co-captain Anthony Egan, and Macquarie duo Josh Merritt and Kini Talaulucavu were sent from the field by referee Troy Warner for striking, as was Nyngan prop Rod Coates.
With Nyngan up 32-16 at that stage it virtually sealed the result and while the Raiders showed fight it was the Tigers advancing after a 10-point win.
“If they’ve done the wrong thing then they deserved to be sent,” Macquarie coach Steve McLellan said of Merritt and Talaulucavu post-match.
“He (Warner) said anyone who threw a punch is off but if he thinks there was only three throwing punches then he needs to have another look at it.
“We had finally got a bit of momentum off the back of some penalties and then the momentum went we only had 11 men.”
While McLellan was left to lament the decisions, Nyngan captain-coach Byron Warren, who exited the match early due to a groin injury, was delighted.
“The game had a few stops and starts through injury and a bit of bluing and carrying on so it was satisfying that we kicked on, kept the lead and kept the game away from them,” he said.
Nyngan had earlier shot out to an early 16-6 lead and things went bad to worse for Macquarie soon after.
The Raiders’ faithful were left shattered when prop Dylan Hill was stretchered off the field after his knee gave way while attempting a tackle. It appeared to be the exact same injury he suffered in pre-season and forced him to miss the first half of the year.
But rather than shake the men in blue, it galvanised them and some magic from Merritt ensured the sides went into the sheds all square. First he grubbered through for Ash Widders to score the first of his two tries before a 40/20 kick and a quick play the ball shortly after resulted in a Damien Wells try.
Wells didn’t return when suffering a concussion early in the second stanza and Nyngan’s lead grew to 26-16 after tries to Brad Pickering and a rampaging Shane Lalogafau, who ran 50m and brushed off countless would-be tacklers.
The brawl broke out shortly after but despite that the Raiders were the next to score through Widders.
But Nyngan held on from there while the Raiders sunk lower as Mason Williams was sin-binned in the final stages.
The Tigers will now take on CYMS in the major semi with the winner going straight through to the September 11 decider while Macquarie will meet Forbes in the minor, after the Magpies defeated Parkes in the elimination final on Saturday.
