Ben Gunn will wear black and white in a grand final tomorrow, but it is Cowra Magpies, not Forbes, who he hopes will swoop on a rugby league premiership at Sid Kallas Oval.
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Gunn made the switch from Group 11’s Forbes Magpies to the Group 10 club earlier this year and has been commuting to Cowra several times a week to help his new team qualify for tomorrow’s season finale.
Cowra will go up against Bathurst St Pat’s after coming from third on the ladder to pinch the hosting rights from the minor premiers for Sunday’s game.
St Pat’s or Mudgee Dragons were the pre-finals favourites to host the decider, but the Steve Sutton coached Magpies shocked their rivals to earn the club’s first home grand final since 1996.
Gunn had never played for any other club than Forbes before this season, but after a trial with the Cowra Magpies in the pre-season, has earned a regular place in the first grade side.
Coach Sutton, who was named Group 10’s top mentor earlier this week, said Gunn had proved a reliable pinch-hitter in the Magpies forwards.
“Ben’s nice and tough and he always brings a lot of energy with him whenever he comes onto the field,” Sutton said on Thursday.
Gunn usually comes on after about 20-30 minutes and plays much like a “third front row” the coach said.
Describing the former Forbes reserves captain-coach as a “very good team man, both on and off the field” Sutton said he respected Gunn for his honesty and work ethic.
“What’s good about Ben is he knows his own weaknesses and he’s quite prepared to play within them,” he said, describing Gunn’s request for a positional shift earlier in the season.
“He’s very upfront about his abilities and I think that’s what makes him a valuable part of the team,” Sutton said.
Cowra started their grand final week well last Friday night with Sutton named the Group 10 premier league coach of the year at the awards dinner at Bathurst Panthers.
Sutton said it was nice to be honoured with the trophy but it would mean little if the Magpies don’t win tomorrow.
“It’s a bit of an empty award if you don’t win the big one, but I suppose it’s something on the mantelpiece if it doesn’t go our way on Sunday.”
Coincidentally, and possibly a good omen for the Magpies, Cowra’s last premiership winning side 19 years ago featured Forbes’ Barry Merritt.
Meanwhile in the Bathurst St Pat’s camp, former Forbes player Matt Tilley was part of the team earlier in the year but has missed most of the season with injury.
