Blackheath have reaffirmed their status as a Mid West Cup powerhouse with the Blackcats defeating the Kandos Waratahs 34-28 in a thrilling contest to lift the Blayney Citizens Cup for the 11th time since 1980.
Playing in front of a good crowd in Carcoar, Blackheath took advantage of a scrambling Kandos defence in the opening stages flying out of the gates to take a 10-0 lead. (Photo above supplied: Lithgow Sports Images)
There were some ominous signs as the Blackcats stretched their lead to 22-6, but Kandos found some rhythm and kept the barnstorming Blackheath outfit in check, reducing the margin to 22-16.
In a match dictated by ebbs and flows, Blackheath stretched their lead to 28-16.
Still, Kandos would not be denied with their physical forward pack taking over in the later stages as the Waratahs scored two quick tries to bring the scores back to 28-all.
Riley Dukes was the man of the moment, when with two minutes to play he crossed for the game-winning try delivering Blackheath their first Mid West Cup title since 2018.
"It was a tough old game and it went back and forth at the end," Blackheath captain-coach Ryan Evans said.
"It was good to come away with it; the fellas dug deep and got through it and the way the final went, it made the win a lot sweeter. The boys were very happy with how the four weeks went."
Blackheath's prolonged success in the Mid West Cup cannot be denied, and Evans was just pleased that the current outfit could add another chapter to the Blackcats' illustrious history.
"Blackheath have had a lot of good teams and good players come out of the area and it's good to be able to link back up and put in some good performances in this tournament," Evans said.
In the Blues Tag decider, Kandos won their first title defeating Blackheath 14-6.
In the two playoff games for third place Carcoar won the Blues Tag contest 6-4 over Portland, while in the men's tackle, Carcoar also won defeating Portland 42-6.
