City was first to score in the fiery match then a bustling run down the wing put Orange across in the corner. The conversion was missed.

The Boars were not sitting on their hands and through the team work of Jaydn Brown and James Sellings on the back of a 5m scrum– big #8 Rusci Lawicate barged across for the first of his two tries.

Toby Tanks added the extras and the Boars had their nose in front.

Pat Jones was next to cross - a huge run from the diminutive full back leaving the Orange defence scrambling. Tanks added the extras. 

Orange found a gap to cross again just on half time, then added the extras but still the Boars had a handy 14-12 lead at the break.

The second half started with the Boars forward pack,  led by Ben Rathbone and Dylan Hood, shutting down the Orange attack. Richard and Dennis Webb went on and added experience to the young side. Dyllan Phillips had his usual strong running game busting through the defence and using the full field to advantage.

Orange crossed but missed the conversion from a penalty scrum on the 10m. The Boars responded with a hard hitting run from Shane Digby and Josh Cornellison to bring the ball to the 20m line.

Richard Webb fed Rusci, who went over dragging the defence. Tanks added the extras – the Boars had their nose in front 21-17.

Pat Jones got himself between the ball and the ground to hold up a desperate try attempt by Orange on full time. From the kick Parkes found the line at the other end but again the ball was held up.

Orange attacked  – now in over time. Webby stole the ball and sent it flying to Chris Sellings. Sellings used his boot and stopped the attack.

After four penalties against Parkes, Orange was assisted across the line under the posts, then converted giving them the game 21-24. 

Best and fairest points: 3pts: Ben Rathbone, 2pts: Rusci Lawicate, 1pt: Jaydn Brown

Players player voted to Pat Jones.

The Boars thirsty thirds had their hands full against a huge Orange city pack. Orange arrived with a full team on the bench and used it well to dominate the game from the start putting on two quick tries in the first five minutes.

Parkes was not without honour as fly half James Sellings found the line from the back of a scrum then converted his own. The Parkes front row – Jason Lowe, Mackenzie Green and Jake Hodge held the bigger Orange pack so the Lions didn’t have it all their own way.

Parkes scored again through Karl Smith but the conversion was missed. The tempo of the game lifted as City began to score at will. Dennis Webb put a crunching tackle on the City scrum half who was flying down the mid field and the ball was dropped so Ryan McCracken pounced and kicked clear.

Nathan Baker executed a clever chip over the defence regathered then sent the ball deep again. Dean Meers swooped on the ball from the wing to give the points to Parkes. Meers then converted from the 22m.

Despite these episodes of great rugby the Boars were unable to maintain the momentum or the legs as City took the match 60-17

Best and fairest points: 3pts: Jason Lowe 2pts: Nathan Baker 1 pt: Blake Green

Players player voted to Nathan Baker.

On June 18, Parkes Junior Rugby hosted its annual Walla Gala Day. The day began early with poor visibility. There were 45 teams from around the Central West and player numbers combined with spectators saw in excess of 1000 people descend on Northparkes Oval.

UNDER 9 - Matt MacGregor

The first game was played against Forbes who was on the attack early but good defence from Dom Gibson, Kaleb McConnell and Kyan Rathbone saw the team hold out for a time. Parkes was unable to hold the Forbes for long as they ran out to a 3-nil score line in the first half. Strong running from Hugh MacGregor, Riley Duncan and some fancy foot work from Jack Milligan saw him bust through and pass the ball to Sonny MacGregor for the only Parkes try of the game.

Game two against Wellington was scrappy as Parkes tried to pilfer every ball. After being penalised on numerous occasions for over enthusiastic rucking, the Boars eventually gained possession and Riley Duncan was over the line for a great try.

This try fired up the side with the courageous Sam Westcott pulling off some awesome low hard tackles. Holly Duncan was great in attack showing her brothers how to hit the ball up straight and hard. Kaleb McConnell and Dom Gibson showed determination with their hit ups and Eben Labuschagne impressed his coaches with his cleanout work.

The last game against Canowindra Pythons was probably the best of the day for the young Boars. They struggled to hold back the rampaging Holly Duncan who volunteered to play for the undermanned Pythons.

Fergus Keiran was everywhere and it was this solid defence that saw him gather in a loose ball and gallop away for the try of the day. Ian Perrin was solid in defence all game forcing the opposition out of the sidelines on numerous occasions and setting a good platform for the line outs.

Henry Rice had a rampaging second half but the only problem was he was playing for the Pythons! Henry ran over most of his Parkes team mates only to be stopped in his tracks by a Hughie MacGregor text book tackle around the boot laces.

It was then a try fest for Parkes with tries coming in quick succession to Kyan Rathbone and Sonny MacGregor.

Awards for the day went to Sonny MacGregor and Riley Duncan with the coaches praising all the players for their continuing improvement. The team would also like to thank all the committee, parents, volunteers, coaches, referees and supporters. 

UNDER 11- Scott Rayner

Parkes Boars fielded a full strength team for the long awaited gala day with the return of Narromine Gorilla team-mates plus Geordie Duncan and Sam Rayner 

Game 1: The Boars kicked off proceedings with an 8.30am start against old rivals Forbes Platypi. No-one is sure what happened in the first half due to the town experiencing a thick fog. Forbes led at the break by a couple of tries with Parkes defence being a bit rusty after a week off.

Parkes burst out of the blocks in the second half with strong running by forward Geordie Duncan, Jeremy and Harry and great recycling of the ball by all the boys, specifically newcomer Charlie Hargreaves.

The extra possession allowed Geordie to force his way over the try-line for Parkes’ first. He followed that up with a long range try brushing off defenders, and Hunter Green was nearly in for a third only to be bundled into touch near the corner post. Some late defensive lapses allowed Forbes to score against the run of play and go on to win 4-2.

Game 2: Parkes attack against Dubbo Reds was outstanding from the start with Geordie almost scoring after receiving the ball from kick-off. The good field position allowed ‘tall timber” James to crash over the line for an early lead.

 Aidan Rayner was a kid in a lolly shop choosing which big strong running forward to feed the ball to next with hit up after hit up from Sterling Green, Charles, James and Harry and then the ball being fed out to the speedy backline of Mack, Hunter, Sam and Lachlan.

Nearing halftime Rayner darted towards the try-line to be momentarily held up before his team-mates barrelled him over to score. For the second gala day in a row Dylan Quade looked set to score dragging three or four defenders as he powered foward only to be grassed centimetres from the line.

Other notable action was Darcy Summerhayes pressuring the line on several occasions with some good “pick and drives” and Lachie Reynolds, helping out the Dubbo team going close to scoring.

Dubbo went out strong in the second half and looked certain to drag back a try only to be denied by desperate cover defence from Aidan. The game see-sawed for a period before some sustained possession led to a try for Sterling. Dubbo hit back with a length of the field effort after an entertaining foot race between Lachie and the Dubbo try-scorer. Ernie sealed the game for Parkes with some dazzling footwork and Parkes won 4-1.

Game 3: Harry opened the scoring for the Boars against Wellington Redbacks after some good lead up play by Charles, Sterling and Mack. Ball control and defensive lapses became an issue as fatigue set in and some scrappy play allowed Wellington to level the game.

Geordie stepped up to score his third for the day and put Parkes back in front only for Wellington to draw level again.

The eventual Player of the Week, Geordie, made it four for the day to gain a win for Parkes against a team that had beaten them convincingly weeks before. Charles was outstanding in several charges into the defence and both Green boys dangerous with each touch of the ball.

Under 13 - Doug Moore

The under 13 played at their training ground Spicer Park on Saturday rather than the traditional Northparkes Oval which might have actually been a good omen. 

Parkes had three reserves on the bench and took on an eager Wellington Redbacks side who had obviously come to play.

Both sides started strong with spirited play and managed to push through the crucial 10-minute mark without running out of steam, Jayden Pope being a standout. Austin Owens was a welcome injection into the forward pack early making some good metres and getting into the ruck.

The two flankers / breakaways Ethan Manley and Nathan Aarts were quick around the paddock throwing themselves into the rougher situations.

Geordie Duncan debuted in the grade at Flanker and made an impact the moment he joined the field. Marno van Coller laid some good ground work in the forwards and Charlie Summerhayes started to shine after coming on at inside centre in turn, allowing Alex De Lacy to unleash his full force in the forwards. Malakai Folau had a strong game at outside centre. 

After so many near tries Parkes were first to score with Tyler Yeo bursting through a maul to run most of the length of the field, supported by Jasper Moore as he went. Liam Moody converted to put Parkes in front 7-nil.

Wellington hit back as the game started to near half time scoring a run away try but were unable to convert the half time score was Parkes 7, Wellington 5.

There were times in the first half where Wellington managed to push the bigger Parkes forwards off the mark with pure deterimination but Parkes proved the better defensive side holding out a number of tries. 

The second half started strong and Wellington was keen for the win and  threw everything at Parkes. To the Boars credit they managed to survive a number of attacks on the tryline before mounting attacks of their own.

Jordan Whalan and Riley Milne kept their channels on the wing safe. Mason Bayliss-Cox made a good attempt at a tackle against a bigger player bearing down on him at fullback and had a good all round performance. Parkes made a number of attempts at scoring.

Jasper Moore made a great break down one side nearly making the line however  it was Tyler Yeo who made a breakthrough for the forwards to go in for the second runaway try taking the score to 12-7.

Wellington stepped up their attack in the last 10 minutes however with both sides tiring it was a true battle the entire way up and down the field until full time with the score remaining at Parkes 12, Wellington 7.

The game was a hard fought battle and both sides played fairly and gave it their all.

The day ended with the under 13 side getting to sing the club song and celebrate their win.

The player’s player votes and three points went to Tyler Yeo, two points to Jayden Pope and one point to Riley Milne