Rugby league in both senior and schoolboy grades will be on display at Nixon Park in a gala day on Saturday, with a long day’s programme starting at 9am. In the game of the round in Group Nine, the Temora Dragons will host the Gundagai Tigers in First Grade, with the winner leading the competition as the halfway mark comes up the following weekend. In what is a “log jam” at the top of the ladder, where only one point separates the top five teams, the Tigers are currently on nine points, with Temora in second place on percentage, ahead of Young, Cootamundra and South City Bulls, with Wagga Kangaroos and Junee a further two points behind. Of great interest is the Cootamundra versus South City clash and Young playing the Kangaroos, where, along with the game at Nixon Park, the results could see positions change. Also, other highlights of the day at Nixon Park, the Temora club will be promoting Pancreatic Cancer Day, with any money raised going to the Garvin Institute. The club will also be celebrating the 20-year reunion for both the First Grade 2006 premiership team plus the Weissel Cup premiership team. The schoolboys will start the day off with games at 9am and 10am on the main ground, while the Weissel Cup team will kick off at 11am and, with Gundagai not fielding a Women’s Tackle team, the League Tag will start at 12.10pm on the AFL grounds. The young Dragons will play a number of games against the Tigers while other games will be played at Bob Aldridge Park. In the build-up to the main game, the statistics for both clubs are interesting, with not much in comparison. After six games, Temora’s points for and against is 254 and 92, while the Tigers’ is 198 and 66. But if the same is done for both clubs playing the same teams – Young, Bulls, Brothers and Albury – Temora’s F and A is 162/56 with a difference of plus 106, while Gundagai’s is 148/38 with a difference of plus110. In attack, Temora has a big advantage with Hamish Starr leading the try scorers with 11, five-eighth Lachie Cole on six and winger Brandon Nima has five, while for the Tigers, wingers Jayden Steele and Cody Bell have five and four respectively, along with hooker Wilson Hamlin on four. Goalkicking is also an area where Temora has a big advantage with 34 from 46, while Gundagai is 23 from 38. For Saturday’s game against Gundagai, the Dragons are expected to start with the team that accounted for the Albury Thunder 66-4 last Sunday, with Hamish Starr, who played his 100th game for the Dragons at Greenfield Park, with Khaileb Cameron-Pani and Jared McKinnon on the wings and Brandon Nima and Jimmy Stewart in the centres, while the starting halves should be Lachie Cole in No.6 and Jake McGovern in No.7. The starting six in the forwards should be Hayden Philp, Bailey Wallace, Tyler Madden, Billy Reardon, Brodie Mirtchin, with Grant Hughes at lock. The interchange should come from David White, Sam Burley, Zac Starr, Lucas Emblard and possibly Brody Foster, who returns this week after representing the NSW Police against the Victorian Police last week. For Gundagai, who had a relatively quiet recruitment drive during the off season in which they only signed Mark Asquith from Group 7 and Cody Bell (Yass) following the retirement of Joel Fields, but over the past few weeks have seen them joined by Salvisi Tamaka and Meli Drani. While only this week former Weissel Cup winner James Luff, who last played in the Tigers' grand final team in 2022 when he won the John Hill Medal, has announced his return this week and is expected to make an appearance against Temora on Saturday. Temora Minor Grade Teams – Temora v Gundagai Reserve Grade – 1:20pm Drew Robinson, Brodie Thorp, Josh Gillard, Nick Bett, Tom Moroney, Cody Lynch, Riley Craw, Yoan Veve, Ryan Cain, Zac Starr, Lucas Embcard, Riley Neville, Sam Carlin, Darcy Kelly, Chase Seiascia, Tom New, Adam New, Tyrone Bussell, Tom Goode, Charles Slinger. Weissel Cup – 11am Bailey Purcell, Colby Thorp, Connor Hawksworth, Clayton Gallagher, Matthew Knox, Josh Hansell, Jacob Durham, Bryce Smetana, Cooper Gersbach, Mitchell Harper, Oscar Bent, Harrison Yates, Alex Levett, Jake Rayner, Darcy Murphy, Oscar Amery, Louie Mortimer, Koby Quince. League Tag – 12:10pm Maisey McCrone, Molly McCrone, Sophie Bowley, Alicia Hansell, Milly Murphy, Emily Perrot, Rommy Wilesmith, Jackelyn Hughes, Lizzie Cooper, Mia Block, Bella McDermott, Tilly Englert, Cate Granleese, Matilda Reardon.
