Coach's late switch proves a masterstroke as Magpies break derby drought

Beating Parkes on the long weekend.

Greenhalgh's Magpies held off a fast-finishing Parkes Spacemen on Sunday at Jock Colley Field, claiming a 22-18 derby win which was their first in the match since 2018.

"I've been coaching for a few years now and I don't think we've ever beaten Parkes on the long weekend," he said.

"It's good to get the win but there is a fair bit of improvement in us. We played in patches against so if we can start to get better and better for longer periods of the game we will be better as a team."

Forbes had won just one long weekend game since 2012, with Parkes dominating the rivalry in recent years.

However, Parkes was dealt a massive blow just before kick-off with captain-coach and halfback Chad Porter ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury.

Porter's withdrawal opened the door for Ryan Goodsell to move into the halves and Jack Milne joined the bench.

A massive crowd made their way to Parkes were full of belief when Jordan Pope crossed to score on his return home before the Magpies hit back.

Ben Maguire silenced the home crowd when he crossed to score two tries in the space of 20 minutes while Tom Toohey continued Forbes' joy down the left edge, scoring a try of his own.

Forbes prop Jack Hartwig along with Charlie Lennon were both strong coming off the bench, with the former crossing just before half-time.

Both Hartwig and Lennon were initially named to start but Greenhalgh decided to switch things up just before the match began.

"It was a late twist to sort of surprise them and tire them a bit before bringing Jack and Charlie on," he said.

"We wanted them to make a bit of a difference and they did. They got quick play the balls and we were able to play some footy off the back of it."

The match was stopped 10 minutes before half-time after one of the touches judges collapsed with an ambulance being called.

Once teams returned, there was a short period before half-time but following the break, Parkes flipped the script on Forbes and started to show their attacking flair trailing 22-4.

Parkes centre Tuhi Pompey crossed two minutes into the second half before winger Jacob Smede silenced a vocal Forbes crowd as he scored as well.

Pompey was handed the kicking duties late in the match and calmly slotted a conversion from the sideline before making things very interesting when he scored a second try for the match with nine minutes remaining.

The Spacies were given one final set to break through Forbes' defensive line but the Magpies scrambled led mainly by Maguire who pushed Parkes centre Fiohira Faingaa over the sideline, sealing the win.

While he was expecting to play on Sunday, Porter was proud that his side finished the match, especially after a slow start.

"That's what we spoke about but I wouldn't say we had a terrible first half, things didn't really go our way," he said.

"We dropped the ball and had a few silly errors. For the boys to turn it around and do what they did gives us something good to take out of it."