Bryson Luff
In what was the first ever Castlereagh League match played beyond the vast Castlereagh area, the Coolah Kangaroos and the Coonabarabran Unicorns met for their final competition round game as the curtain raiser to the NRL clash between the Penrith Panthers and the Canberra Raiders at Mudgee’s Glen Willow Stadium on Saturday.
The match kicked off in front of an already very big crowd with both teams contributing to a game that featured hard hitting defence and some very slick team tries being scored.
The Roos bounded out of the blocks and midway through the first half they had clocked up a 12-0 lead with their five eight Brad Pickering contributing to both their tries by way of a towering bomb that was allowed to bounce, that bounce favouring the Kangaroos who quickly moved the ball wide to centre Dylon Edwards who went over in the ninth minute.
Not long after Pickering scored a fine individual try when he put in a chip and chase 15 metres out to score and with both his conversions being successful the Unicorns were on the back foot.
Pickering’s opposite, Brad Fuller, got Coonabarabran on the board when he threw a deft pass to his centre Eddie Kuras to score in the 25th minute and just five minutes later they were in again when, on the back of a great run by second rower Anthony Harris from in his own half, Orlando Kershaw crashed over and the Unicorns were then only two points adrift on the scoreboard.
With five minutes to go until the break Coonabarabran hit the front for the first time in the match when full back Josh Nixon latched on to a high bouncing ball after a grubber was put through and with the conversion successful, they led 16-12.
That lead was extremely short lived, with Coolah’s Casey Burgess stealing the ball in a one- on-one tackle from the kick off to stroll over, and rather incredibly the Roos were in again in the final minute of the half when winger Sam Wesley went over out wide after some great ball movement and the red and whites went to the sheds as 24-16 leaders.
That gap was closed early in the second half when a nice backline movement put Sonny-Bill Walker over in the corner, and with the conversion successful it was game at 24 to 22.
That was as close as the Unicorns were to get, with the Kangaroos going on to record a comfortable 46-26 win, that win shoring up third position on the ladder and setting up a return bout with the Unicorns this Saturday in the qualifying semi final that will be played at Coonabarabran.
The Cobar Roosters cemented the minor premiership and hosting rights for the major semi final when they downed the Narromine Jets 28-16 at Narromine, while the Dunedoo Swans very briefly held third position on the ladder when they registered a big 56-12 win over the Gilgandra Panthers on Friday night, only to be relegated back to fourth on the ladder due to Coolah’s win over Coonabarabran the following day.
The remaining game saw the Coonamble Bears and the Gulgong Bull Terriers complete their 2026 commitments when they met at Coonamble, with the home side winning a tight contest by just two points, the final score being 34-32 after both sides scored five tries.
Coonabarabran will host the qualifying semis this Saturday which will feature the two Mudgee combatants going at it again and whilst the Kangaroos will be well pleased with their effort last Saturday, they will need to be up for it again in trying to repeat the dose on the Unicorns’ home turf.
Conversely the Unicorns will be concerned about the manner in which they lost the game last Saturday, their ball security being an issue for them at times, and along with a number of injury issues they will have to pull out all stops if they are to get over the ‘Roos.
A huge crowd is expected to view the action.
Turning to Sunday’s elimination final at Dunedoo between the Swans and the Narromine Jets, the visitors will be buoyed by the fact that they have registered two sizeable wins over their hosts thus far this season, winning 40-24 at Dunedoo in round 2 and then 53-20 in the return match in round 10.
The Swans will be hopeful that a big home crowd will help them reverse those two results to keep them alive in season 2026.
On both days the first game will be the league tag with a 12.30pm kick off first grade to follow straight on.
The final pecking order of the league tag top five was sorted when Narromine scored a 28-16 win over Cobar at Narromine on Saturday, that win drawing them level with the Roosters on the competition ladder, but with a superior for and against the Jets will progress to the qualifying final and will play Coolah on Saturday whilst the Roosters will be up against Gulgong in the elimination final on Sunday in Dunedoo.
COOLAH 46 (Dylon Edwards 2, Sam Wesley, Bradley Pickering, Braydon Burgess, Casey Burgess, Justin Mogg, Jacob Medd tries, Pickering 5, Braydon Burgess 2 goals) DEFEATED COONABARABRAN 26 (Josh Nixon, Sonny Bill Walker, Eddie Kuras, Sam Pickette, Orlando Kershaw tries, Nick Willoughby 3 goals).
