It's a rare thing for Parkes five-eighth Dennis Moran to be outshone in the halves, especially in the high pressure surroundings of a grand final, but that was the case on Sunday after halfback Chad Porter's outstanding performance in the Group 11 decider was rewarded with the Bob Weir Medal for player of the match.
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Porter scored a try, kicked five goals and guided his team around the park in a classy display that went a long way to deciding the match as the Spacemen ran out 30-18 winners and lifted the premiership trophy.
"It's unbelievable, I'm loving it." Porter said after receiving the award.
With CYMS leading 12-10 at halftime it was Porter who crossed for the vital try eight minutes after the break and when Brandon Paige crossed 15 minutes later the Spacemen were in complete control. Porter added the extras and then converted a penalty to put his side up by 10 before he converted Dennis Moran's late try to finish with a personal tally of 14 points.
"It was pretty important," Porter said of his own role during the match. "Playing alongside Dennis I just had to work off the back of him and everything went our way so it was good."
While Porter took home the Bob Weir medal he would have had some serious competition for the accolade in the form of Parkes captain-coach Pat Rosser. The big prop lead from the front all match and the young halfback was full of praise for his forward pack after the victory.
"Patty (Rosser) got us going really well in the forwards and big Dave (Masoe) through the middle, once they got rolling we were right," he said. "The forwards were unbelievable."
Porter joins a list of Bob Weir medallists which, in recent times, includes last year's winner Josh Merritt of Macquarie, Joe Williams from CYMS in 2010 and Parkes' Benjamin John in 2009 when the Spacemen last lifted the Group 11 premiership.
Porter was modest in the assessment of his own game and again credited the forwards for allowing him and Moran the opportunities to capitalise on great field position.
"They opened it up a bit and gave me a bit of room it was really good," he said.
