An undefeated Gulgong Bull Terriers side have ended their 100th year celebrations by claiming the 2023 Christie and Hood Castlereagh League first grade premiership after grinding out a hard-fought win against the Cobar Roosters in the grand final played at Gulgong on Saturday.
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In what was a somewhat dour affair the closeness of the two teams on the scoreboard meant that it was none the less exciting, with the result in the balance until the full-time siren was sounded.
Halfback and captain-coach Brad James, speaking to ACM on Monday following the final said it feels like the Gulgong Terriers have achieved the impossible.
"It's crazy to think in your 100th year that you can do what we've done. I can't believe it. It's been amazing the last couple of days and the feeling after the game was awesome. It's still unbelievable really," he said.
"I said to my wife... if someone had - at the start of the year - written all of that down on a bit of paper and said you'd do all that on your 100th year and given it to you. You would say 'that's not possible, you can't do that, no way.'
"No one's done that before and no one will ever do it again because you don't have your 100 years again."
Points were hard to come by, with both sides guilty of being sloppy with regards to their ability to control possession and it was not until there was only eight minutes remaining in the first half that there was some activity on the scoreboard when James was able to score out wide to give his team a four nil lead which was to be the score at the half time break.
James' opposite, Thomas Plater, evened things up when he went over from close range just three minutes into the second half.
The Terriers seemed to be winning the game in territorial terms, with the Roosters called on to do some stout goal line defence until finally the four all deadlock was broken when Gulgong's front rower Jack Hart, was able to pop a beautiful pass to his front row partner, Blake Gorrie, who crashed over and with the try converted the Gulgong held a tenuous 10 to 4 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
It is history now that the Terriers were able to hold on to that lead after what was a tense finish to the match and the 2023 Castlereagh League season and gives them a very convincing claim for Clayton Cup honours.
"Everyone is so proud, everyone is so happy. Everyone has seen how hard we worked and our attention to detail and the attitudes everyone applied to everything that was done and to get a result, it's just - the RSL was packed when we walked in after the game. It's everything rolled into one, it's just amazing," Brad said.
"It's incredible to think that we've won a comp and we've won it undefeated not only we've done it undefeated we've done it in our 100th year. I tell you what the grand final wasn't easy but we grit our teeth and worked really hard and we got there on the back of grit and how hard we worked for one another."
From the outside it looks like the team has accomplished everything it could, and in a landmark year no less. But finding a new goal and ever greater heights are on the mind of Brad James.
"If there's one thing for sure, I will play again. I'm not shutting up now but I suppose you find a new goal and find something to strive for and something strive for is back to back I suppose, why not go back to back? We can see what we've been able to do this year, why not go one better and do it again next year?," he said.
"Everyone knows who they are but I want to thank the committee and all our fans and the sponsors, because without all those people these things don't happen."
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While Gulgong celebrated their undefeated season, the Narromine Jets league tag defeating the previously unbeaten Dunedoo Swanettes.
The game wasn't decided until the final few seconds of extra time, with the Jets taking a nail-biting win.
The lead changed three times in the first half before the Swannettes went to the break narrowly ahead 14 to 12.
The second half saw the Jets get ahead on the scoreboard 18 to 14 before Dunedoo replied with a try to lock it up at 18 all at the end of regulation time to propel the grand final into extra time.
With the engrossing extra time ten minutes almost elapsed it appeared that the match was headed to golden point, but with just seconds remaining the Jets went over wide out and it was to be their premiership with a 22 to 18 victory.
Shian Chatfield was named player of the match while Narromine captain-coach Doug Potter was named Castlereagh First Grade Player of the Year.
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