Todd Nichols: Narrabri No 7 stars in win over Cowboys after marrying last month

He had just starred in Narrabri's gritty 32-24 win over Dungowan on a cold and wet day - the No 7's two-try effort a continuation of his excellent start the season as the Blues notched back-to-back wins in pursuit of an elusive premiership.

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Recently married and working as an electrical engineer at Whitehaven Coal's underground mine at Narrabri, Nichols is in the midst of a wonderful phase of his life.

It would appear that his work, home and sporting lives are in synch, and that a happy footballer is indeed a good footballer: he was named man of the match on Saturday - the three points added to the five he received in the first two matches this season. He was also man of the match in the Blues' previous game, a 36-18 defeat of Gunnedah.

Nichols married his longtime partner, Phoebe, at Narrabri early last month. Phoebe, nee O'Neill, hails from Narrabri, like her man, but went to high school in Sydney. She works as a pharmacist in the small town.

"It was good. We had a lot of fun," Nichols said of the nuptials, which occurred five years after he graduated from the University of Newcastle and returned to Narrabri to work at the mine.

Nichols has endured a number of serious injuries. He said he did not want to "go out like that", so he resumed playing last year after a lengthy break from the game.

The Blues' quest for their first premiership since 1990 ended when Covid halted the 2021 season just before the finals. They were crowned minor premiers.

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There is a sense of unfinished business emanating from the side this season. Narrabri captain-coach Jake Rumsby said as much after Saturday's clash, which left the Blues with two wins and one loss after three rounds.

Nichols said: "I grew up playing juniors with Rums [Rumsby] and a lot of these boys. So, we're all really good mates, and we wanted to go around again until we can't."

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Nichols said Narrabri were "grinding it out" this year. "It would be good to win one by starting strong and continuing on," he added.

Against the Cowboys, the halfback opened the scoring in the ninth minute when he scooted from dummy half.

The home side replied three minutes later, when centre Tevita Peceli crashed over after a strong run down the left edge. A seesawing battle ensued over the remainder of the half.

Dungowan took the lead via a sensational 80m try in which Peceli passed to winger Liam Mack, who galloped down the eastern touchline and then found Peceli, who in turn found Mack for the touchdown. Taylor missed the conversion: 8-4 to the Cowboys.

Both sides scored two more tries in the first half - the final four-pointer coming after Cowboys No 13 Cody Byrne was put into a gap and raced down the field before linking with Taylor, who then converted his own try from in front: 18-16 to Dungowan at half-time.

In the 51st minute, Narrabri's new signing, No 9 Joss Cleal - the son and nephew of ex-NRL players Les and Noel Cleal respectively - darted from dummy half to score his second try. Nichols converted from in front: 22-18 to the Blues.

When Rumsby smashed his way over the tryline, and Nichols crossed seven minutes before full-time, the visitors led 32-18.

NARRABRI 32 (Joss Cleal 2, Todd Nichols 2, Jake Rumsby, Damon Gleeson tries; Nichols 4 goals) d DUNGOWAN 24 (Tevita Peceli, Liam Mack, Matt Wilson, Ethan Antzakles, Trent Taylor tries; Taylor 2 goals). Best and fairest points: 3 Nichols, 2 Brett Jarrett, 1 Daniel Jobson.

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