The Magpies have finished runners-up in the Western league tag challenge after Cargo became the first Woodbridge Cup side to hold the trophy high in 15 years. Cargo Heelers met Forbes Magpies in the final of the annual pre-season tournament on Sunday, 22 March, after nine teams played out three 20-minute games each in their pools. Cargo went on the attack early in the final but it took eight minutes of play for them to break through and score in the corner to establish a 4-0 lead at half time in warm conditions at Tom Clyburn Oval. Forbes responded two minutes into the second half to level the scores at 4-4, and it was Cargo who seized an opportunity with three minutes of play left to take the win 8-4. Those two Cargo tries were the only scored against Forbes all day - an effort Forbes coach Anthony Davies had to be happy with. The side ran out in the first Peter McDonald Premiership knock-out on the Saturday, then headed to Canowindra to defend their Western challenge title on the Sunday. With the start of the competition now just weeks away, it's a good sign. "We've got a pretty similar nucleus to last year - and we did well last year - and we've got a couple of new players," Davies said. Host club Canowindra had a great hit-out to open their season, notching up a 12-0 win over Trundle and a 10-6 win over Cowra before their own loss to the day's winners Cargo. Event organiser Andrew Pull said the day had been another great display of skill and athleticism from the region’s league tag players and he thanked everyone who competed. The challenge started in 2011 and was won that year by hosts Canowindra, but hasn’t been won by a Woodbridge Cup club since that first year. Players also thanked the day’s officials for their work to cover back to back games across two fields all day.
