Discipline and determination were crucial as Narromine Gorillas achieved their season objective of a Central West New Holland Cup Rugby Union first-grade premiership in front of a buoyant home crowd at Cale Oval on Saturday, August 30.

Narromine was able to hold on for a 19-15 win against defending premiers Mudgee.

Gorillas head coach Ivan Truscott had two sides to look after on grand final day, with both first and second-grade qualifying for the big one.

Truscott said it was a wonderful feeling to win first grade, which had been the club’s goal all year.

“Huge, absolutely huge, it was extremely emotional,” he said.

“A lot of tears, a lot of laughter and a lot of joy. It was something we had aimed for all year.”

Truscott noted few teams go through a season undefeated and win a grand final. Plenty of sides have been unmatched all year only to drop the big one.

The end result was on the line until the final phase of play when Narromine fullback Euan Truscott made a tackle, secured possession from Mudgee, and Narromine kicked the ball out to ensure a Gorillas' premiership. He had earlier scored the clincher after first-half Narromine tries to breakaway Harrison Bowman and left-winger Alexander Heap.

“It was just a tough game,” Ivan Truscott said.

“Mudgee lifted their game through the season and came at us hard. It was just sheer grit and determination that got us home.

“We spoke all season about discipline and determination, and we stood up for each other and got it done. We just played good smart, hard, footy.”

He noted the Wombats were strong in the scrum and at the maul.

While a hugely satisfying grand final day for Narromine, it wasn’t perfect. Mudgee scored a late converted try in the second-grade decider to win 26-19 against a gallant Gorillas outfit. Narromine gave it everything, but the Wombats took the second-grade premiership.

Coach Truscott said he was proud of second-grade, who won two elimination finals to qualify for the grand final.

“The boys are so resilient,” Ivan Truscott said.

“They went the long way, the scenic route to get to the grand final. To lose on the bell, that’s a huge testament to their character.

“It’s sad to lose when you get so close, but second-grade knew our main goal was still achievable and we still had something to look forward to.”

He added Narromine was just a little slow to start but played well in the second half against the wind.

Coach Truscott had set a ‘fit-in or fly-off’ mentality for this year, with discipline and fitness keys to success.

“Gratitude,” was a key word to sum up 2025, he said.

“To have 45 young blokes turn up in February... every time I asked the squad to do something, they would do it and do more. Whatever I asked, they did it. Immense pride.”

He paid tribute to former head coach and current assistant Sam Tuck for his work in building the club culture, Gorillas' sponsors, supporters, his family, and the support networks of all players and coaches that “make the club”.

“It's a big team effort,” he said.

“I’d like to thank everyone behind the scenes. It was humbling to get so many wonderful comments and remarks from the whole town basically.”

Truscott took on the coaching reins for both Narromine sides with the clear goal of winning the first-grade premiership. He would like to stay on as head coach in 2026, but said he will need some help to focus on the next goal of winning both first-grade and second-grade premierships in the same season.

“It needs two of us to go for the two goals,” he said. “We will still be one team, just with two goals.”

Mudgee had two wins on the day, with their women’s 10s side taking out their respective decider, defeating Parkes 19-10.

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Central West New Holland Cup Rugby Union Grand final scores (per Rugby Xplorer)

First-grade grand final: Narromine 19 (Harrison Bowman, Alexander Heap, Euan Truscott tries; Jacob Hardie 2 conversions) defeated Mudgee 15.

Second-grade grand final: Mudgee 26 defeated Narromine 19 (Mitch Roach, Joeli Mosi tries; Justin Clarke 2 penalty goals, Ben Peters penalty goal).

Women’s 10s North Cup: Mudgee 19 defeated Parkes 10.