Pirates have won a fourth-straight premiership, coming from behind to edge the Rams 26-24 in a grand final thriller at Walcha on Saturday afternoon.
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The win saved Pirates blushes after their under-19, second-grade and sevens sides were earlier beaten.
After leading 18-5 at half-time in the top-grade contest, Walcha found themselves behind 19-18 after Pirates scored back-to-back unanswered tries via prop Bart Leach and replacement half-back Amos Ioasa.
Leach barged over from close range following a lineout close to Walcha's tryline, then Ioasa crashed over from a Pirates scrum on the Ram's tryline - with No 14 Wes Rooney converting from out wide. There was just over 17 minutes remaining in the match.
Walcha No 10 Simon Newton then booted two penalty goals to hand the Rams a 24-19 lead late in the contest.
The match-winner was scored by Pirates prop Andrew Collins, who drove over the line and then Rooney added the simple conversion.
Leach and Collins were both originally suspended for the grand final after they both picked up a third yellow card in Pirates' preliminary final win over Narrabri.
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However, those suspension were quashed at a judiciary hearing on Friday evening.
"We've had a pretty tough week this week and it was just great to see the boys could come out and make it all worth it," Pirates coach Mat Kelly said.
Pirates captain Conrad Starr in the immediate aftermath spoke of his relief.
"We've put so much into it and it hasn't really sunk in to be honest," he said.
"It was just relief when we finished the game."
Pirates opened the scoring when Rooney showed good finishing instincts to cross, before Newton booted a penalty goal to make it 5-3.
Newton kicked another penalty goal and Walcha led for the first time in the match: 6-5, with 10 minutes left in the first half.
The complexion of the game then changed in Walcha's favour. With four minutes left in the first half, the Rams raced to a 18-5 lead after great long-range tries to No 15 Dom Bower and then No 13 Ed Cordingley.
Bower was superbly put into a hole by Newton and then raced about 40m to score out wide. Newton missed the conversion.
And then Cordingley scored the try of the match, after the Rams strung together a couple of great passes in their own half, before Cordingley was put into a gap on halfway and raced away to score. Newton converted: 18-5.
