In the highest profile Castlereagh Cup League match in years and the first-ever beyond their vast playing zone, two top sides played out a high-scoring match in Mudgee last weekend.

Coolah Kangaroos and the Coonabarabran Unicorns met for their final competition round game as the curtain-raiser to the NRL clash between Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders at Glen Willow Stadium last Saturday.

The game kicked off in front of an already very big crowd with both teams contributing to a game that featured hard-hitting defence and some very slick team tries.

The Roos bounded out of the blocks and midway, through the first-half, had clocked-up a 12-0 lead with five-eight Brad Pickering contributing to both, firstly by way of a towering bomb allowed to bounce with the Kangaroos then quickly moving the ball wide to centre Dylon Edwards who went over in the ninth minute.

Not long after Pickering scored a fine individual try from a chip-and-chase 15 metres out to score.

Pickering’s opposite, Brad Fuller, then got Coonabarabran on the board when he threw a deft pass to his centre Eddie Kuras to score in the 25th minute. Soon after they were in again when, on the back of a great run by second-rower Anthony Harris from in his own half, Orlando Kershaw crashed-over and the Unicorns were then only two points adrift on the scoreboard.

With five minutes to go until the break, Coonabarabran then hit the front for the first time when full-back Josh Nixon latched on to a high, bouncing grubber kick and, with the conversion successful, they led 16-12.

This lead was extremely short-lived though, with Coolah’s Casey Burgess stealing the ball in a one-on-one tackle from the kick-off to stroll over. Rather incredibly, the Roos were in again in the final minute of the half when winger Sam Wesley went over out wide after some great ball movement with the red-and-whites going to the sheds as 24-16 leaders.

That gap was closed early in the second half when a nice backline movement put Sonny-Bill Walker over in the corner and, with the conversion successful, it was game on at 24-22.

That was as close as the Unicorns were to get, with the Kangaroos going on to record a comfortable 46-26 win to shore up third position on the ladder and set up a return bout with the Unicorns this Saturday in the qualifying semi-final that will be played at Coonabarabran.

In other matches, Cobar Roosters cemented the minor premiership and hosting rights for the major semi-final when they downed the Narromine Jets 28-16 at Narromine, while Dunedoo Swans very briefly held third position on the ladder when they registered a big 56-12 win over Gilgandra Panthers on Friday night, only to be relegated back to fourth on the ladder due to Coolah’s win over Coonabarabran the following day.

The remaining game saw Coonamble Bears and Gulgong Bull Terriers complete their 2026 commitments when they met at Coonamble, with the home side winning a tight contest by just two points, the final score being 34-32 with both sides scoring five tries.

Coonabarabran will host the qualifying semis this Saturday which will feature the two Mudgee combatants going at it again and whilst the Kangaroos will be well-pleased with their effort last Saturday, they will need to be up for it again in trying to repeat the dose on the Unicorn’s home turf.

Conversely the Unicorns will be concerned about the manner in which they lost the game last Saturday, their ball security being an issue for them at times, and along with a number of injury issues, they will have to pull out all stops if they are to get over the ‘Roos. A huge crowd is expected to view the action.

Turning to Sunday’s elimination final at Dunedoo between the Swans and the Narromine Jets, the visitors will be buoyed by the fact that they have registered two sizeable wins over their hosts thus far this season, winning 40-24 at Dunedoo in Round Two and then 53-20 in the return match in Round 10.

The Swans will be hopeful that a big home crowd will help them reverse those two results to keep them alive in season 2026!

On both days the first game will be the league tag with a 12.30pm kick-off first grade to follow straight on.

The final pecking order of the league tag top five was sorted when Narromine scored a 28 to 16 win over Cobar at Narromine on Saturday, that win drawing them level with the Roosters on the competition ladder, but with a superior for-and-against, the Jets will progress to the qualifying final and will play Coolah on Saturday whilst the Roosters will be up against Gulgong in the elimination final on Sunday in Dunedoo.