Weekend wrap: Attitude an issue for a number of finals contenders

The injury happened inside the first five minutes of the match and the lengthy treatment - which required two ambulance teams - forced the game to be moved to one of the Apex outside fields. The game returned to the main ground for the second half and the first grade game kicked off an hour later than scheduled.

Doyle suffered a double compound fracture of the leg and was rushed in for surgery on Sunday night.

Word from the game was Doyle isn't a regular, who was there helping out the reggies side given they were a little short.

Here's to a speedy recovery.

Teams can sometimes turn up to a game with a plan to go after one player in particular.

For the Mudgee Dragons on Sunday it appeared that man was Jake Anlezark.

Whatever the reason may be - whether something was said or simply the fact he's the tallest man on the field - Anlezark had a target on his back from the moment he stepped on the field.

The clash hit its peak late in the first half when Anlezark found himself on the end of two big hits from the Dragons, with each hit being led by player-coach Clay Priest.

The second of those saw the ball dropped, eliciting big cheers from the Mudgee players and faithful on the sidelines.

Those cheers were short lived when Priest coughed the ball up immediately and the Pat's fans returned serve - one of very few reasons for the blue and white crowd to find their voice during a tough day at home.

Priest then received 10 minutes in the bin for dangerous contact on a tackled player.

While that gave the Saints fans another reason to smile it was only temporary joy, with the team eventually losing 46-10.

Trainers, ground managers and behaviour from players and coaches towards referees has come into the spotlight during season 2024.

Orange Hawks officials were quick to let people know where they could stand and what language was unacceptable, especially during the reserve grade game.

On the field in first grade referee Nick Lander wasn't copping any backchat, marching both sides an extra 10 metres during the first half.

At Dubbo, penalties for swearing and dissent featured heavily across a number of grades.

We've heard a few coaches singing from the same hymn sheet in the last couple of weeks.

Last round, St Pat's coach Chris Osborne said his players needed to "take a good hard look at themselves" after a loss to Dubbo CYMS and after Sunday's heavy defeat to Mudgee he said something similar.

Parkes captain-coach Chad Porter was also harsh on his players, saying attitude needed to improve and players need to train better.

As we pass the halfway mark of the season, these things become more important. Maybe in the first half of the season you can get away with the odd bad performance or individual brilliance can decide things but it's no surprise we're seeing a well-run side like Dubbo CYMS starting to turn things around while others are struggling.

Even a side like Nyngan, sitting towards the bottom of the ladder, has the committed James Tuitahi leading the way and the improvement is clear to see as the Tigers have won two of their past three and lost the other by just six points.

With June 30 approaching, we've been asking around to see if there's any chance of a late signing in the PMP.

Almost every club is politely saying no, but Dubbo CYMS coach Shawn Townsend did joke for a second Wes Maas - CYMS committee man and member of the Australian 40 richest under 40 - did meet with NRL agent Isaac Moses during the week just to cause one of our reporter's ears to prick up for a second.

Townsend did reveal the Fishies looked into one signing but it fell over last week and he doesn't expect any new faces to arrive now.

However, we are hearing whispers of a major signing coming somewhere in the competition this week so stay tuned.

Dubbo CYMS 26 defeated Parkes Spacemen 12

Mudgee Dragons 46 defeated Bathurst St Pat's 10

Wellington Cowboys 36 defeated Macquarie Raiders 28

Orange CYMS 32 defeated Lithgow Workies Wolves 18

Bathurst Panthers 34 defeated Orange Hawks 16

Nyngan Tigers 18 defeated Forbes Magpies 16