Kandos Waratahs have remained unbeaten in the opening two rounds of the 2023 Mid West Community Cup to book their place in the Grand Final.
Kandos opened their campaign with a 26-20 victory over the Portland Colts in Wallerawang in Round One before a come-from-behind 28-26 win over the Carcoar Crows in Blackheath for Round Two.
“It’s been a good start, but in that win over the Crows the guys felt like they let them back in the game when they shouldn’t have,” Kandos Waratahs President Craig Parsons said.
“We led early and Carcoar hit back to lead into half-time 14-12, and they scored a pretty easy try following some silly penalties just after half-time.
“Then with 10 minutes or less on the clock, we came back and scored two tries. There was only five seconds left when Thomas Large kicked the winning conversion.”
In a top-of-the-table Round Three match and a virtual Mid-West Cup Grand Final preview, Kandos host the unbeaten Blackheath Blackcats on Saturday.
Blackheath has been in fine fettle defeating Carcoar 58-12 in Round One before registering a 38-12 victory over the Portland Colts on Saturday.
“It’s a big game for us … Blackheath is a strong side and they have been good all year,” Parsons said.
“The boys will need to contain three or four Blackheath players. If they can do that, it will make a big difference.”
The Waratahs women sit precariously in second position heading into Round Three.
Following a 30-22 win over Portland in Round One, they fell to Carcoar 10-8 on Saturday in an injury-shortened fixture.
“The girls felt a bit hard done by on Saturday because they missed out on 12 or so minutes,” Parsons said.
“They wanted to beat Carcoar and make sure they were playing in the grand final, and with the extra time, it could have gone either way, but they were disappointed to lose that way.
“The loss means it’s a must-win game against Blackheath on Saturday if they want to make the Grand Final.”
Win, lose or draw this weekend, all teams will feature on Grand Final day. Parsons, who is also Treasurer of the Mid West Cup, says the competition is about participation and giving players the chance to represent their hometown.
“It gives these men and women a chance to play the game - we have a lot of under-18s stepping up and a lot of older guys still playing,” Parsons said.
“It also gives the local guys a chance to represent their town and team and represent where they come from.”
On Saturday, Kandos hosts Round Three of the Mid West Community Cup at Kandos Waratah Park and Parsons is hopeful of a decent turnout.
“We are expecting a bit of a crowd. This is the 10th anniversary of when we won the competition, so hopefully, we get a few of those old grand final players back and make a bit of a day of it.”
Click here for results and draws for the Mid West Community Cup.
