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The June long weekend rugby league derby has long been a highlight on Max Hartwig’s calendar, but this year, he lived it.
The 18-year-old ran out in the black and white alongside brothers Jack and Jordan and cousin Zeke, capping the occasion with a try in front of the Magpies faithful as Forbes powered to victory.
"It was amazing, it was unreal," Max said post-match.
Hartwig’s moment came when he burst through the Parkes defence and dived over near the posts, sparking jubilant celebrations from teammates and a roar from the hill packed with Magpies supporters.
"It’s what you look up to: Forbes vs Parkes, it’s the best thing," Max said.
"It was unreal to be a part of it."
While the scoreboard shows a convincing 32-18 win to Forbes - part of a clean sweep across all four grades - the first grade clash was anything but straightforward.
It took 20 minutes for the deadlock to break, with Parkes striking first through Billy Simpson, who crashed over to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.
Forbes responded five minutes later when Charlie Lennon crossed, but a missed conversion kept Parkes in front 6-4.
The Magpies soon edged ahead after a powerful run from Farren Lamb set up Zeke Hartwig for a try, but Parkes hit back before the break. Junior Igila crossed to give the Spacemen a 12-10 lead heading into half-time.
Forbes' first grade captain Nick Greenhalgh acknowledged the game could have gone either way at that point - but he had every confidence in his side if they held on.
"They were really good, Parkes, we knew they would be," he said.
"We knew Parkes were going to be up for it and we needed to stay in the fight long enough."
They did - and in the final 25 minutes of the match, Forbes broke it all open.
Chad Porter struck first, scoring behind the posts off the back of a Jake Grace run, before Jackson Brien leapt high to finish a pinpoint kick from Greenhalgh.
Suddenly the Magpies had surged ahead 20-12, with 17 minutes still remaining.
Momentum had swung, and the travelling supporters made their presence felt.
Hartwig’s highlight-reel try soon followed, extending the advantage and energising the side further.
Farren Lamb added another in the corner, with the conversion bouncing in off the upright to push the lead out to 32-12 with just eight minutes left.
Greenhalgh credited the men in the centre for laying the foundation.
"We punched them through the middle and we were able to play off the back of that," Greenhalgh said.
"We were scoring from 30, 40 out and that just goes to show the boys in the middle were punching forward."
Jake Grace, Jack Hartwig, Nick Booth and Charlie Lennon were instrumental through the middle, consistently driving Forbes on the front foot.
"A try like Maxy's – that’s off the back of our middles doing their job, that was really pleasing," Greenhalgh said.
Parkes refused to go quietly, with Brendan Bigam crossing in the corner late and Jett Rudd adding the extras to bring the final score to 32-18.
But the win was Forbes' to savor and they celebrated not only the success but their families and fans.
"Running towards Magpie hill is unbelievable," Greenhalgh said.
"They (the fans) do it every year, they continue to surprise me.
"It’s a home game for Parkes but it feels like we’re at Spooner Oval so we don’t mind playing here on the long weekend."