Played in breezy conditions at Dunedoo's Robertson Oval the Cobar Roosters had managed to come back from an eight-nil deficit early in proceedings in their Castlereagh League qualifying semi-final against the Dunedoo Swans.
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The Roosters clawed their way back on the scoreboard to have it reading eight-all at the break courtesy of a converted try and then a penalty goal right on the half time siren.
Their momentum carried them to a 16-8 lead in the second half before the Swans centre Villiame Turuva scored his third try for the afternoon to make it 16-14 and very much game on.
Tim Hillam's second try for the Roosters gave them a bit of breathing space, extending their lead out to eight at 22-14.
With tensions running high in both camps the game the final quarter of the match saw a Cobar binned and a Dunedoo player sent off with 15 minutes remaining following a dust up.
When the binned Rooster rejoined the fray with just five minutes to go his place in the foul house was quickly taken up by two more Roosters which presented the Swans with a great opportunity to breach the Cobar defensive line.
But despite their best efforts to do just that the Roosters managed to hold their line in tact to secure the victory and a shot at hosting the 2023 grand final if they can beat Gulgong next Saturday.
The day at Dunedoo began on a sombre and emotional note with a minute silence being observed in respect of the passing of Coonabarabran Unicorns player and former NRL premiership winner Kyle Turner the day before.
Turner died at the age of 31 with Blake Solly, the CEO of his former club South Sydney, also paying tribute on the weekend.
"Kyle was an amazing human being," Solly said.
"He epitomised the country boy rugby league player. He was such a tough, uncompromising player on the field, yet a lovely, generous man off the field.
"Over his nine years with our club he contributed a lot of time to Souths Cares and was very popular amongst his teammates, colleagues, our members and supporters alike.
"We offer our full support to his family and friends at this very difficult time, and he will always be remembered at our club as a man that delivered a premiership to the Rabbitohs, but also a man that connected deeply with his communities."
Turner's number 11 jersey was retired and the Unicorns' reserve grade side went on to score a strong win over Cobar in a fitting tribute.
The Roosters also tasted defeat in the League Tag game against the Narromine Jets but certainly made a game of it, coming back from being down 28-8 at half time to be trailing 28-20 early in the second half before the Jets regrouped and went on to win 38-20.
On Sunday, at Narromine, a minute's silence for Turner was again observed before the first-grade elimination semifinal between the Narromine Jets and the Coonabarabran Unicorns kicked off.
The Unicorns got away to a great start and lead 10-6 midway through the first half before the Jets levelled it in the 26th minute.
From that point on they took control of the game with their flying winger "Freddy" Joji, dazzling the crowd, and the Unicorn defence, scoring four tries and play a major contribution to the final scoreline that had his team come away with a big 50-20 victory.
The Jets centre Washington Itoya also figured prominently, bagging three tries in the victory.
The lower grades saw the Gilgandra Panthers reserve grade side score a 22-20 win over the Gulgong Terriers in extra time and the reigning League Tag premiers, the Baradine Magpies remain in the semi finals with a 24-10 win over Coonamble.
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Next weekend will see the major semi finals be played at Gulgong on Saturday and the minor semis at Dunedoo on Sunday.
By the time the Cobar Roosters first grade side get home after their major semi final game against the Gulgong Terriers they will have travelled some 4,600 kilometres to play in their last six games, a distance greater than driving from Sydney to Perth (and 600 kilometres of the way back).
Obviously, they will be relishing the prospect of securing the home game that will be forthcoming from their match against the Terriers, but the question is will it be the grand final on September 9 or the preliminary final on September 2.
To get to host the grand final is the big prize on offer for both the Roosters and the undefeated Terriers this Saturday.
The two times that the teams have met thus far have seen Gulgong come away with a 34-20 win at Cobar in round nine and winning again 36-24 at Gulgong just a couple of weeks ago in the final competition round.
The winning margins of 14 and 12 would indicate that the Roosters have been competitive in both games and perhaps with a bit of luck they could upset the Terriers, all be it a difficult task to do so at Billy Dunn Oval.
On Sunday at Dunedoo the Dunedoo Swans and the Narromine Jets will again clash, this time in the sudden death first grade semi-final.
The Swans won 38-30 in their only meeting so far this year, but they have run into injury problems late in the season and will have to dig deep to hold the Jets out.
The other grades will see the Cobar Roosters figure in both games taking on Gilgandra in reserve grade and the Baradine magpies in league tag.
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