It was muddy and messy, but the fans weren't disappointed when Forbes and Parkes met in the Maas Western Youth League Round 4.
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Fans from the twin towns lined up to watch the clash - from the warmth of their cars - at Spooner Oval on Sunday afternoon.
It was the young Magpies who emerged victorious at the end of a somewhat scrappy game in cold, wet and muddy conditions.
The Magpies continued their unbeaten run in the modified competition, making it four wins from four.
But they worked for it - coach Brad McMillan acknowledged they "defended their way to the win".
It was the Magpies who opened the scoring and it took Parkes until the second quarter to put points on the board.
The score was locked at 6-6 at half time, and the young Spacemen hit out quickly when the whistle blew.
They were denied their opportunities though and it was Forbes that found next points, Darcy Leadbitter collecting a kick to dive over in the corner.
The tussle between the twin town teams continued into the final quarter before the Magpies extended their lead to 16-6.
A penalty late in the game Parkes the opportunity to bring the scores to 16-12.
Magpies captain Jack Hartwig acknowledged the game was scrappy.
"Very slippery," he said at the end of the game.
"The field and the weather's not going our way today but it was a good game by the boys, they pulled through and they went well."
After being thrown into the new-look competition with just a few weeks of training, he's pleased with how things are coming together.
"We're starting to get a bit more match fitness, we're really starting to hit our straps now and we should be good to go for the rest of the comp," Hartwig said.
The coach too was happy with his squad - and a win over their traditional rivals.
"It was typical wet weather sort of footy," McMillan said.
"A lot of dropped ball, but I'm pretty impressed with the way the boys went today considering the weather.
"I thought Jack had probably his best game for the year," McMillan added.
Forbes Magpies 16 (Darcy Leadbitter 2, Thomas Phillips tries; Matthew Noakes 2 goals) defeated Parkes Spacemen 12 (Tobias Miller, Finnley Neilsen tries; Jammara Gooloogong 2 goals)
