Parkes Spacemen score long weekend derby win over Forbes Magpies

The Spacemen defeated Forbes in another blockbuster long weekend derby battle on Sunday but the match was overshadowed by a likely season-ending broken leg for Parkes fullback Jake Dooley.

Midway through the first half the fullback collected a kick but landed awkwardly under pressure and was immediately in extreme pain.

The match was delayed for roughly 45 minutes as Dooley required attention from ambulance officers at the ground given the severity of the injury.

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The incident briefly took the heat out of the contest but the Spacemen regrouped and went on to score a 28-18 victory in front of a monster Pioneer Oval crowd.

"No-one wants to see one of their players go down like that," barnstorming Parkes prop Takitau Mapapalangi said, adding the players came together for Dooley.

"I don't know how to explain it. You can only understand it if you're out there on the field but there was a real atmosphere around the boys."

Mapapalangi and front-row partner Jack Buchanan again produced almighty performances up front and set the platform for the victory.

Mapapalangi spent time in the sin-bin during the first half for a professional foul but was otherwise immense, as he carried defenders with him time and time again while playing big minutes.

As well as the loss of Dooley, prop Joe Duffy missed the majority of the second half due to a shoulder injury while young winger Malakai Folau failed to finish the match after a head knock.

Despite all that against them, Parkes led 12-6 at half-time and then scored three tries during a fiery second half to keep the pressure on Group 11 pool leader, Dubbo CYMS.

For Mapapalangi, in his first season at Parkes after previously playing at home in New Zealand and then in Melbourne, the clash between the fierce rivals was like nothing he'd experienced before.

"That atmosphere was crazy," Mapapalangi said.

"I was surprised. I've never played in front of a crowd this big before. I walked out and saw all the cars around and thought 'holy shit'.

"Every hit, every run, you could hear the crowd. Just an amazing atmosphere to be around."

The Forbes fans were kept quiet early on at Pioneer Oval as Parkes again made a fast start to a match.

Brandon Paige and Jim Dabea crossed inside the opening 10 minutes to create a 10-0 lead before Forbes hit back via Tom Toohey after Mapapalangi was binned after hauling down Joey Dwyer while offside.

Parkes captain-coach Chad Porter then opted to take the two following a penalty to make the margin six again before Dooley went down injured.

There was concern among the Parkes players and fans while the ambulance was clapped off by both sets of supporters after the long delay.

It stayed 12-6 until the break, but just minutes after the restart Dabea crashed over for his second after some razzle-dazzle, side-to-side play.

The Magpies, with just two wins to their name this season, refused to go away and tensions boiled over after a Tongia Fox hit on Rex Yallon was deemed a shoulder charge.

Both sets of players came rushing in, with Fox ultimately put on report, a decision which drew fury from the Forbes section of the crowd.

Those in black and white were soon cheering with a Nick Greenhalgh bomb was spilled on 57 minutes and Coopa Martin was on hand to scoop it up and score under the posts.

With the margin eight and less than 20 minutes remaining the feeling was something had to give.

It came via an uncharacteristic dropped ball from Forbes star Mitch Andrews close to his own line and soon after a perfect Dywer grubber was planted down by Cody Crsip and then 10 minutes later Porter finished off a long--range effort to make it a 14-point game.

Forbes grabbed a late consolation before Porter iced things by nailing a late penalty.

"There was a couple of crucial calls which didn't go our way and whether we think that was wrong or not, it doesn't matter now," Andrews said, Toohey having been denied a second try in the second half due to a contentious knock-on call while Fox's hit was initially ruled as fair before the officials came together.

"We let them off the hook and Parkes, especially on the long weekend, you can't do that and we had to make them pay because they certainly make you pay.

"They were a lot more up for the game than us at times ... that's not a concern but it's something we need to work on because there's nothing worse than talking here after a loss."

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