Glen had a clean sweep of all three matches after Inverell forfeited the President’s Cup (Reserve Grade) clash.

The A Grade match was a very physical confrontation with both sides playing strong games and the result in doubt until the final exchanges. Both sides were guilty of poor handling on many occasions and the game failed to reach great heights as a result, but the closeness of the scores kept the good Mothers Day crowd on the edge of their seats.

The visitors dominated early exchanges and scored first when fullback and coach Andrew Le Breton forced his way over in the fourth minute. Le Breton was clearly the Hawks best player and was a constant threat to the Magpies’ defence. Glen hit back to take the lead in the 19th minute when Aaron Jones went over under the posts and Jason Ferris (5 from 7) converted.

The Hawks hit the front again when centre White scored (22 minutes) and moved further ahead when five eighth Nathan Guan scored near the posts soon after. Guan looked to be in again shortly after but was mown down by man-of-the-match, fullback Mark Muggleton.

In the 32nd minute, Muggleton made a great break and offloaded a freakish pass when tackled by Le Breton, to Damian Doust who scored untouched. Ferris missed the conversion attempt and Inverell led 14 - 10. Two minutes later, Ferris grubbered ahead and hooker Mitch Berridge chased hard to dive on the ball for the levelling try. Ferris goaled for a half-time lead of 16 - 14 to the Magpies.

Le Breton began the second half the same way as he commenced the match and scored in the first minute after the break. The conversion by Tom Nelson put the Hawks in front again, 20 - 16. A great long ball from Ferris onto Will Newberry’s chest put the winger in for a fine try, but Ferris missed the goal - 20 all.

Jones got a fine individual try in the 50th minute and Glen led 26 - 20 after Ferris landed the goal. Guan got his second three minutes later and scores were level again.

Unexpected rain made the ball slippery but Joel Jackson made no mistake when he charged onto a Ferris pass, burst between two defenders and scored an important try. Ferris goaled and Glen led 32 - 26. Ferris showed his experience when he slotted home a field goal for a 33 - 26 advantage with fourteen minutes to go. Muggleton again saved a near certain try with a great tackle but Inverell centre Nathan Tolley scored a good try and Nelson’s successful kick saw Glen hanging onto a one point lead.

With a couple of minutes left, Ferris kicked a penalty from in front and Glen held on for a vital two points.

This was not a pretty win by the Magpies, but their new-found determination saw them home in a game that either side could have won. Jason Ferris had a huge influence on the result - his experience and football nous were major factors in the victory. The players voted for a shared award between Muggleton who shone in attack and defence, Doust who was excellent in his first match of the season and hard-working prop Shad Bailey.

Ray Grob made some superb tackles while Arthur Latham was excellent off the bench and a host of other players made good contributions.

Glen’s Under 18s team overcame a host of handling errors to score an impressive 24 - 4 win over the previously unbeaten Inverell.

Glen was a long time getting out of their own quarter as Inverell bustled and bullied handling errors in the opening sets. Eight minutes in Inverell’s Steve Akhurst opened the scoring with a good try.

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The Hawks again dominated possession and the Magpies were forced to defend for long periods. Several times superb scrambling defence held the visitors at bay. After 25 minutes, centre Joel Jackson steamed through a gap out wide and raced fifty metres to score in the corner. Nick Ehsman landed a superb conversion from touch for a 6 - 4 halftime lead.

Six minutes after the break, Jackson grubbered into the goal pads and dived to re-gather the rebound and score beside the posts. Jake Turner converted for Glen to lead 12 - 4.

With seven to go, Luke Whan tidied up some loose play to dart over near the posts and in the final minute, Ross Lewis stepped nicely to score adjacent to the posts after great leadup work by Matt Crowhurst. Turner converted both tries but the twenty point margin didn’t do Inverell justice.

Nevertheless, Glen gets top marks for an outstanding defensive effort. Keeping a quality side such as Inverell to one try (and none in 52 minutes) was an outstanding team effort.

Sam Crossley was best on field and was well supported by Michael Adams, Ehsman, Jackson and Tim Croft while Whan had a fine second half after coming off the bench.

Glen still has improvement in them; has Sam Kiehne due to return in the near future plus injured Mark Mabbott making good improvement after injury in the opening match of the season and suspended Adrian Wadley to return next week. Competition for spots in the side is intense and presents the coaching staff with a problem that all coaches would love to have - who do you leave out when the side is firing and all players are working hard on the training paddock?

Glen Innes’ Oztag team earned a tough 8 - 2 win over Inverell, returning to the winners’ circle after their narrow loss to Bingara.

Glen scored first when Kirsty Grange showed great pace to dart to the blind side and race almost eighty metres for a superb try in the second minute. From the kick-off, Courtney Grange trapped the ball on the quarter and raced through the middle of the ruck for another long range try to the Magpies.

Glen then endured some hard attacking play from Inverell and made some great tags to stop tries from the visitors. In the eleventh minute, Fiona Williamson darted away for a good try and Glen led 3 - 0. But Inverell hit back with fine tries to Tamara Sharpe (14th minute) and Cassie Schuman (18th) and Glen led by a solitary try at the break.

Glen Innes didn’t allow a try in the second half as their tagging continued to show improvement. They scored tries through Hannah Fakes (5th & 18th minutes), Courtney Grange (8th and 20th) and Rebecca Stevens (17th minute) as their attacking play came together nicely against good opposition.

The girls are improving each week and with plenty of pace and some astute ball play are going to be a big threat in this competition. Hannah Fakes was voted players’ player while Courtney Grange got the vote from the referee. Megan Fuller was again a good leader and schemed well throughout but each player contributed, especially in their spirited defence work.

Next Sunday, Glen Innes travels to Red Hill at Guyra for matches in all four grades. Perennial premiers, Guyra has not been so dominant in their top grade side this season and Glen will be looking to grab their first win at Red Hill for some seasons.

A leg injury to Jake Chard and a shoulder problem for Tim Every were concerns out of the victory over Inverell while injured centre and goal-kicker, Daniel Ferris (rib cartilage) may still be unavailable. Nevertheless, Glen will field a competitive unit despite two or three players backing up from Group 19 duties on Saturday.