Boggabri created their own slice of rugby league history with a pulsating, extra time, come from behind 26-20 win in Saturday’s Whitehaven Coal Group 4 First Grade Preliminary Final against Werris Creek at David Taylor Park, Werris Creek.
In front of a huge crowd the 2024 Boggabri Kangaroos hopped into history, becomin the first Roos side to beat Werris Creek in the Magpies nest.
Never had they beaten the magpies at Werris Creek, even leading 20-nil one day yet still being run down.
Not so Saturday.
The Roos led 6-early and 12-6 after winger Josefa (Little Joe) had scored two flashing tries yet the Roos went into halftime down 14-12 and were down 20-12 four minutes into the second half when Harlee Millgate ran into a hole and received a perfect pass from Mitch Doring to score.
However, the Roos might have been down but they weren’t out.
Robert Doolan and Matt Gillham went close to scoring for the Roos before outstanding prop Nic Millar crashed over beside the posts in the 71st minute for Ash White to convert.
White added another penalty when Werris Creek hooker Dylan Porter was adjudged to have made a professional foul in tackling a Roo attacker before he received the ball.
White calmly potted the penalty to send the game into extra time.
His sideline conversion of a Robert Doolan try in the corner five minutes into the first period of extra time was the icing on the cake for what was a 26-20 win.
“What a game,” Boggabri coach Shane Rampling told G4 Media.
“Greta game. But we still made some silly mistakes in the first half.
“Unbelievable, really. To get this little club and town to a Grand Final. We’ve had a lot of hard years and to actually get there (Grand Final) is dumbfounding. Brilliant, bloody brilliant. The Green and Gold. Just love it.
“The boys kept turning up today but we’ve got to be better next week.
“The effort from the boys today was unbelievable. I thought we had blown our chances when we dropped the ball in scoring chances. But the effort and spirit in these boys is amazing.
“I was confident we could win it if we got in the grind. Doring (Mitch) and Hadden (Ronin) were dangerous and we couldn’t to afford to go to sleep. We defended really well too and just ran straight and hard.
“It’s unbelievable but we’ve got a big week ahead of us. Enjoy this tonight and then have a lot to work on for Moree. Sure we’ve got a few bumps and bruises but we’ll enjoy it and look forward to it.”
He said the Werris Creek crowd was “great” and “the atmosphere was great too.
“We’ve just never won here before, the boys have been ticking boxes all year. Done a great job for a little club. We’ll make sure we give Moree a good run too. We’ve got to go out there and play footy.”
The Roos had plenty of stars. Fullback Ash White had one of his best games and made some silky-smooth catches to defuse bombs and grubber kicks.
Centre Pita Rigosau was huge, his explosive running part of some brilliant plays and lean winger Josefa Goneduadua (Little Joe) also set the field alight with his pace. Prop Nic Millar was a force in the middle with skipper Matt Gillham and halfback Andrew Wallace also controlling the Roos assaults.
Centre Robert Doolan was another threat all game.
The Roos now play Moree in this Saturday’s Grand Final at Boughton Oval, Moree in a hope of winning their first Group 4 Premiership since 1964.
Check out the large gallery of photos from the game and the post-match celebrations on their Facebook Page.
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