"To stand on our home turf as premiers – I’ll remember this for the rest of my life." Magpies' first grade captain Nick Greenhalgh was soaking it all in on Sunday after the Forbes rugby league club claimed first and reserve grade western premierships on home soil at Spooner Oval. With four grades qualifying for grand finals, Forbes turned black and white last week and even early on Sunday the sides of the playing field and the new grandstand were filled with Magpies fans. The standard of competition since Group 10 and 11 combined to form the Peter McDonald Premiership in 2022 makes fielding four grand final sides an incredible achievement, Greenhalgh said. "It's been a successful season even if you didn't come away with a win today," he said. Greenhalgh said that success reflected not only the hard work the club had put in, but also the way the club and community had stuck together through adversity and tragedy this year. "We have people looking down on us – I hope we did them proud," he said. Among those appreciating the significance of the occasion was first grade coach Cameron Greenhalgh. "For a small town like Forbes, to have it in Forbes and to be a success, it’s massive for the town and the community," he said. "I’m so proud of the boys and the effort they put in, they deserve this. "I said last week, the town deserves us to win." FORBES WINS TWO OF FOUR In a historic day for the club, all four Magpies grades qualified for grand finals on home soil, with first grade defeating Dubbo Macquarie 36-16 and reserve grade edging Mudgee Dragons 18-16 to secure premiership glory. The under-18s came within a sideline conversion of forcing extra time before Bathurst Panthers snatched an 18-16 victory with a try on the final siren, while Forbes' league tag side led early before Orange CYMS fought back for an 18-10 win. The crowd Forbes is renowned for turned out early and in force, creating a fitting atmosphere for one of the biggest days in the club's history. But while the Magpies lifted the Peter McDonald Premiership Trophy in first grade, celebrations were tempered by a serious injury to centre Farren Lamb late in the match. With Forbes leading 36-16 and less than five minutes remaining, Lamb suffered a broken leg, the game was officially called off due to injury and players and supporters watched on, subdued, as paramedics treated the popular centre. The result stood, securing the premiership for Forbes, but thoughts were firmly with Lamb and teammates gathered to applaud him from the ground. The opening stages of the first grade decider had been well contested and it took nearly 15 minutes for Forbes to open the scoring - Brandon Paige crossing in the corner. It was nearly the same time again before Macquarie levelled the scores at 4-4 but the Magpies put Jordy Hartwig over in the corner with just three minutes remaining to lead 8-4 at the break. Farren Lamb broke away down the outside early in the second half, and sent the ball in to Chad Porter to score, the conversion giving Forbes a 14-4 lead. Macquarie hit back with consecutive tries to edge ahead 16-14 despite some desperate Forbes defence. "After they scored that try off the kick we regrouped a bit," Greenhalgh said. "They had a couple of soft tries and got in front - we really focused on the next set of defence and when we’re rolling, we’re rolling. "Our forward pack – Gracey, Jack, Traie – were just going forward and we were just playing off the back of it." Forbes blew the game open with three tries in eight minutes. Man of the match Mitchell Andrews and Jackson Brien combined to send Jordy Hartwig over for his second, before Chad Porter grabbed his second try of the afternoon to extend the lead to 26-16. Two minutes later, Brien again created the opening for Hartwig to complete a hat-trick and push the margin to 30-16. There was eight minutes left on the clock when Jack Hartwig made a big run to cross the line and seal it for Forbes 36-16. "Those boys – they’ve been in those big games before, we’ve been there before, we know what it takes," Greenhalgh said. "That’s what we said: we know what it takes to get there, we’ve just got to do it and we did, I’m super proud." When Lamb was taken from the ground by ambulance, the clock officially counted down to full time and it was clear how much the victory - Forbes' fourth premiership in 11 years but the first of those at home - meant. In the presentation, Greenhalgh acknowledged a massive Macquarie season - the season opened with a draw between the two sides. His side, he said, had dug deep over 75 big minutes for the win. "It’s not easy, we’re gonna remember this for a long time," the captain said. "We’ve done this for a few people today and we hope they’re proud of us." On their jerseys, in their hearts, and in a banner carried onto the field at full time was #9 Hayden Bolam who they lost mid-season. "We had our boy in our heart all day today and we wanted to bring it home for him," Jack Hartwig said. For veteran Jake Grace, who returned from retirement for the 2026 season and celebrated his fourth premiership with the Magpies, sharing the moment at Spooner Oval made it even more special. "We've got the best supporter base in the competition," Grace said. "Today, the noise coming from the whole way around the ground, that's why you love to play footy. "We loved it, we thank the crowd and everyone that’s turned up to support us." REGGIES VICTORIOUS It was the second trophy the Magpies lifted for the afternoon, the Caleb Wardman-led reserve grade claiming the western premiership 18-16 over Mudgee Dragons with man of the match honours to Nick Booth. The visitors ran in three tries - including one in the final three minutes of the match - but Brodie Acret kicked three penalty two-pointers and converted both his team's tries for the win. A penalty gave Forbes the first two points in a physical decider, but it was also the Magpies' Harry Scott who crossed the try-line first to see the hosts establish an 8-0 lead. Mudgee hit back to narrow the gap to 8-4 but the Magpies were awarded a second penalty kick to take a 10-4 advantage into the sheds. Another penalty kick extended that lead to 12-4 before the Dragons scooped up the ball from a kick and scored to narrow the gap to 12-10. Joe Morrison crossed in the corner and converted the try to see the win sealed for Forbes. Captain Courtney Hodge swings away from the Orange CYMS defence in the grand final. LEAGUE TAG IN CLOSE CONTEST It had already been a huge morning for Magpies' fans, with the first match of grand final day in the league tag with kick-off at 9.30am. Orange CYMS were first to score but a Ruby Coote double, with a successful conversion by Erin Naden, saw the Magpies hold a 10-4 lead late into the first half. CYMS did cross the line just before the break, but trailed 10-8 going into the sheds. The visitors were applying a lot of pressure in the second half and eventually broke through the Magpies defence with 13 minutes of game time left. With just five minutes left on the clock they backed up to make it 10-18. Coach Anthony Davies said he couldn’t be prouder of the group of girls, although short of the fairytale finish. “It was a tight grand final and they left absolutely everything out on the field on Sunday,” he said. “Their effort, commitment and teamwork throughout the entire season has been outstanding. “We’re a very close-knit group and it’s been a privilege to be part of their journey. “Of course, we would have loved to get the win for the girls, but that’s footy. “The result didn’t go our way, but they should hold their heads high because they’ve given us all plenty to be proud of.” Alby Denyer scores for Forbes in the Tom Nelson premiership decider. UNDER 18S GOES DOWN TO WIRE Forbes Under 18s met Bathurst Panthers in the next for the Tom Nelson trophy. Panthers took an early lead with a try and penalty goal, but a Nate Richards try, converted by Joe Nicholson, levelled the scores at 6-6 just two minutes out from half time. A converted try each way - Forbes' scored by Alby Denyer - saw the scores levelled at 12-12 with 21 minutes of game time left, and Thompson Hurford crossed to establish a 16-12 lead for the boys in black and white with eight minutes left on the clock. Panthers, who were grand finalists in 2025, were applying plenty of pressure but it wasn't until right on the buzzer that they scored in the corner. A pin-point kick from the sideline secured the conversion and the premiership. Club president Matthew Jack said the day was an incredibly proud one for the club. It’s been 25 years since Forbes hosted a grand final and history-making to have four sides qualify. That would have been an achievement even in the Group 11 days - to have those teams in the top two of four grades of a combined Group 11 and Group 10 competition is history-making. “I’m just so proud to have four teams there and to have four close games,” he said. “To win two is a great achievement.” It was also a great showcase of Spooner Oval’s new grandstand and the support that the club has from the community. Senior club presentation scheduled for Saturday evening.
