Castlereagh corner: New-look Terriers continue to build under new coach

Now, after a month of the Castlereagh League season, he is fully aware of the highs and lows that come with coaching.

"At the start, it was very stressful and I bit off more than I can chew," he said.

"I've figured it out now and I've got a few blokes who are around who are mentoring and making things easier."

Taking over from Brad James, Crane had the tough task of taking the reins at Gulgong, a side that went undefeated throughout 2023.

The reigning competition champions, Gulgong's new coach didn't have everything his own way with several players departing the club.

"We've lost nine out of our grand final 17, we've got guys like Brad James, Sam Gorrie and Blake Gorrie (still playing)," he said.

"That makes it a little bit better with those senior players, they are all playing well. We've still got a couple of guys like myself to come back.

"We should only get stronger as the year goes on but we will see what happens I guess."

Last Saturday, the Terriers defeated Narromine 32-28 in a close battle between two sides who should feature in the finals series later this year.

Centre Saimoni Lewaya scored two tries for Gulgong in the win which keeps them in the hunt for a top two spot.

"It was a tough one, it went down to the wire," Crane said.

"We are still pretty under-strength and Narromine looked pretty weak as well. They took us right to the wire but it probably shouldn't have been that close."

Elsewhere, Baradine defeated Gilgandra while Coonabarabran was too good for Coonamble.

In the top-of-the-table clash, Coolah defeated Cobar 22-16.

Gulgong will head to Coolah this weekend to take on the competition leaders, a match Crane knows won't be easy.

"It will be a very tough one," he said.

"We are still down on troops a little bit but they are at home so they will be very strong."

Bardine's win over Gilgandra was their first of the season as the Magpies won the Noonan-Campbell Cup which is contested between the two clubs to commemorate the life of Baradine legend Ken Campbell.