Boasting their strongest squad for some time, Bathurst were unbackable favourites against Forbes, who also struggled for numbers and whose only points in the competition so far had come from a forfeit by Bathurst 2.

“Apart from my sister, we had a full squad,” senior player Paige Eslick said.

“I think that was a big help because we were able to make changes when people got tired. It was quite a hot day and it got quite warm in the stadium.”

The Bathurst team were never threatened in the match but Eslick said there was extra motivation for the side to post a big score against the cellar-dwellars.

“Our goal was if we won by 20 goals then we would finish in second so that kept us going,” Eslick said.

“It was tough for the whole game. To Forbes’ credit they never gave up.”

Eslick said the Forbes effort belied their position on the table.

“I think if you watched the game without actually looking at the score, you wouldn’t know that we were leading by 20. Forbes kept fighting and we were very pleased that they did that,” she said.

With Bathurst 2 withdrawing from the competition, the remaining four teams all go through to the semi-finals to be held on September 14th.

Bathurst 1 will take on Orange 2 and Eslick expects it will be a close game and tougher than the Forbes encounter.

When the two sides played on August 17, the game finished a 51-all draw but there will be a result this time around with the winner going through to the grand final.

Eslick said it was unlikely that the side would get an opportunity to train before the finals begin.

“Everyone has full-time jobs so it’s hard enough getting people together on a Sunday to play, let alone get together for training,” she said.

Kathy Griffin will hand the coaching reigns back to Alanna Eslick for the finals series.

In the other match, Parkes are virtually guaranteed a place in the decider when they play Forbes.

BATHURST 1 47 defeated FORBES 18.