It's been an injury-plagued season for Sam Dwyer but the Western Rams fullback and Parkes product produced one of his best performances of the season on Sunday to ensure finals footy for the Parkes Spacemen.
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The win came at the expense of the Macquarie Raiders, who now head into the final round knowing they won't be playing at the business end of the season in 2019.
The Raiders headed to Pioneer Oval needing a win to keep the pressure on the fifth-placed Spacemen heading into the final round but came up against a Dwyer-inspired Spacemen side which controlled almost the entire game.
The Spacemen ran out dominant 42-16 winners and after missing much of the regular season through injury, Dwyer is building confidence at the right time.
He was among the try-scorers in the convincing win, and was pleased to show signs he was getting back to his best at the most important time of the season.
"I missed eight or so weeks with my broken foot but I came back against CYMS last week and starting to get into the groove now," the fullback said.
"I had a good game today. It was good to get my hands on the ball a bit and get a bit of that contact in."
The win was a welcome one for the Spacemen after losses to Nyngan and CYMS during the past three rounds.
Those results had seen the side slip to fifth and put its finals hopes at risk.
"We needed it to confirm semis so it was a must-win for us," Dwyer said.
"It takes a lot of pressure off us and we're not relying on other results now. We knew coming in it was a game we had to win.
"We started well considering how we have been going but then it was a bit of scrap at the back-end of the first half.
"But the second half we got back to what we wanted to."
It wasn't all perfect for the Spacemen as the win was marred by a suspected season-ending ACL injury for the fullback's brother and lively Spacemen five-eighth Joey Dwyer.
That is a cruel blow for the Spacemen but the return of the older Dwyer will continue to give the side hope.
The Spacemen now play Forbes in another bumper derby next weekend, and the two are also likely to meet the following week in the elimination final.
Macquarie, now certain to finish sixth, meets an in-form Nyngan side in the final round.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
