It was not their most impressive win of the season but Forbes did enough on Sunday to secure two points and remain in the hunt for a top-three finish in the 2015 Group 11 competition.
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The Magpies scored a 32-20 win in a lacklustre contest at Caltex Park, played in front of a small crowd.
Heading into the final round of the home-and-away season, Forbes sit a point behind Wellington on the competition ladder, and will need to beat rivals Parkes next week and hope Westside can beat Wellington if they are to sneak into third spot and earn a guaranteed second chance.
Coming off an emotional 44-42 win over Westside a week earlier, Macquarie started well and were rewarded when winger Steven Leask crossed in the corner after just three minutes.
That would be the only time Macquarie would lead in the entire match though, as Forbes hit the front seven minutes later through captain-coach Zac Merritt, and when Ethan Gaffney and Kyle Baxter scored in the 10 minutes leading into half-time it was enough for Forbes to take a 16-4 lead into the match.
That lead could have been larger had it not for the Magpies being denied two certain tries, including one in which a lunging tackle from Brad Spencer knocked the ball loose as Matt Morris was about to put it down and score.
Claude Gordon scored early in the second stanza to get Macquarie back in the contest at 16-10, but the game ebbed and flowed after that as Forbes crossed to stretch their lead before Ash Widders crossed to once again get Macquarie within striking distance.
But the Magpies steading, crossing a further two times to push the score to 32-14 before a consolation try to Chris Daley saw the final score finish 32-20.
The win capped a big day for the Magpies, who earlier took out under-18s by 22-12 before their reserve grade side battled bravely with 12 men for the final stages of the match but still managed to grab a gutsy 20-18 win.
FORBES MAGPIES 32 (Ethan Gaffney 2, Joel Davie, Tyson Rewiti, Zac Merritt, Kyle Baxter tries; Hayden Bolam 3, Blake Baxter goals) def DUBBO MACQUARIE 20 (Steven Leask, Claude Gordon, Ash Widders, Chris Daley tries; Mason Williams 2 goals)
- Dubbo Daily Liberal
