Cowra Blues end Parkes Panthers bid for a fourth straight AFL Central West senior men's tier two title

The Blues' four-goal third quarter would be the difference maker in their 10-3-63 to 5-4-34 victory, ending the Panthers' bid for a fourth straight premiership in the process.

Blues vice-captain Laing Whinfield came away with the best on ground honours while player-coach Frank Bright led the way with four goals.

Bright said it was great to see a team full of passion live up to their potential in the big game.

"This year was the first time in a while that we were able to get a bit of structure into this team," he said.

"A lot of the boys when I first introduced that structure were up in arms about it, but I think that third quarter summed up how good it could be for us.

"There was some back-and-forth footy there for a while, which I knew was going to happen, and we really had to respond after half-time, which we did.

"We got back to what works for us, which is kicking long, manning up in the middle and stopping the useless kicks to the side. It was probably our best quarter of the year."

Bright said that after coming up short against the Panthers on several occasions it was great to get the job done.

"Parkes have been the number one team for three years, and that was something I stressed about in the lead up to this one because they did it to us a couple of years ago," he said.

"We've been a four quarter team, and no-one's been able to match us for four quarters. We knew we could run over the top of them and our second half was superb."

Panthers skipper Peter Webb said his team are still feeling upbeat about the future despite the result.

"We just dropped off for a patch there and that's what hurt us there," he said.

"To have played in four straight grand finals is a great thing for the club. We've had a couple of young fellas come into our side who are really keen to come back and keep playing, which gives us a bit of hope for the coming years."

Little could split the two clubs over and a back-and-forth opening half.

It was Cowra's accuracy in front of goal that kept them narrowly ahead of Parkes, with a 5-1-31 to 3-3-21 lead at half-time.

The Panthers then scored within three minutes of the new half when they put away a scrappy shot from close range.

But from there the Blues truly hit the ground running.

Cowra came up with an immediate response through Mason Bright after he found some space at the Parkes 50m to score.

Bright scored again shortly after and Bailey Taylor joined in on the fun with a goal of his own a few minutes later.

Frank Bright then tackled a Parkes opponent to earn a free kick, allowing him an easy shot at goal and a seemingly insurmountable 29 point lead at the last break.

Bright produced a copy of that tackling effort in the fourth quarter to earn another set shot, and his six points put the result beyond doubt.

He finished the match with four goals.

COWRA BLUES 10-3-63 defeated PARKES PANTHERS 5-4-34 (Leigh Diston, Darcy Mannion, Riley Pike, Jonty Ralph, Paddy Williams)