The Parkes Spacecats scored a narrow one-point victory in extra time in the Group XI league tag grand final in Dubbo on Sunday. Playing on Dubbo CYMS’ homeground, it was a golden goal to Claire Barber that sealed the 13-12 win in the competition’s second year.
Two tries by Sally Dwyer and Ella-J Harris and two conversions by Claire Barber saw Parkes lead 12-10 at half time.
Parkes held tight through a second half stalemate, with CYMS kicking a penalty for the only two points of the half, levelling the score at 12-12 at full time.
The desperation of two periods of extra time saw the game become very physical, but the Spacecats held tight to their structure and made a lot of forward metres. Claire Barber found herself in front of the posts and surefooted the ball over for the one point field goal to win the match for Parkes. While admitting to being “terrified” in the lead up to the game, coach Michael Dumesny said that a quality final training session made him confident the girls would put
on a good display.
“They showed up in the right frame of mind on Sunday, so I knew they had it in them,” Michael said. “The difference was that we stood up to the task of the extra time pressure – we were on top of it.” Michael said Sally Dwyer was strong throughout the game, but on Sunday it was difficult to single out the best player from an outstanding team performance.
“Now that we’ve got the win, we’ll be able to really celebrate at presentation on Saturday!”
By Cindy Nutley