The Canowindra Tigers First Grade side has officially ended its 2026 Woodbridge Cup campaign after a difficult season concluded with a 42-16 loss to the Blayney Bears on Sunday, 2 August.

The result at Tom Clyburn Oval confirmed the Tigers would not feature in this year’s finals series, ending a proud run of consecutive finals appearances that stretched back almost a decade.

Despite the disappointment of missing finals football, coach Malcolm Miller said he could not fault the courage and commitment shown by his players, who battled through one of the toughest injury periods the club has faced.

The Tigers entered the final rounds of the season severely depleted, with a number of key players sidelined through season ending injuries.

Miller said the impact of losing so many players had been significant.

"We've lost eight players in the last six weeks," he said.

"The season ending injuries, eight players out of any team takes a big toll."

Despite those setbacks, Miller praised the remaining squad members for continuing to take the field and compete despite being well below full strength.

"The players we had left after injuries, the last month has been very courageous from them," he said.

"We've played under strength and undermanned for the last four or five weeks, so to even take the paddock and be partially competitive has been a major coup."

For the first time in approximately eight or nine years, the Tigers will not play finals football.

While Miller admitted the result was disappointing, he said the circumstances surrounding the season were largely outside the team's control.

"It's very disappointing not being part of it this year," he said.

"But it's just one of those things that you can't foresee and you can't do anything about with injury."

The coach said the team's resilience throughout the difficult period was something the playing group should be proud of.

One of the biggest examples of Canowindra's determination came against competition leaders Manildra, where the Tigers were forced to play large portions of the match with limited numbers.

Miller said the effort showed the character within the squad.

"We played Manildra here, who were competition leaders the other week, and for 30 minutes of the game we played with nine, and 25 minutes we played with 10," he said.

"And got beat by 20 points.

"So that's massive."

Against Blayney, the Tigers again found themselves struggling with numbers after starting with a full side before injuries and sin bins reduced their playing group.

"We started with 15, and we got a couple injuries, so we had the bare 13," Miller said.

"We had a couple put in the sin bin together, so that didn't help when you're down to 11 men."

Facing a strong Blayney side that finished around the finals positions, Miller said the circumstances made the task even harder.

"They're a creditable side, and we were just understaffed," he said.

Despite the challenges, Miller praised the playing group's ability to maintain morale and continue enjoying their football.

He said the support of experienced players and club leaders helped guide the younger members through the difficult period.

"I just told them to stick in there and enjoy their fun and stick with one another," he said.

"They pretty much all done that themselves anyway with the help of Ronald Lawrence and Wally Gaeta and those older heads."

The Tigers' ability to remain united through adversity was one of the biggest positives to come out of the season.

While the season did not end the way the club hoped, Miller said one of the biggest positives was the emergence of several young players who have shown they are capable of stepping up into first grade.

"My main takeaway is what I started with at the start of the year," he said.

"There's a few young juniors that have come through and put their hand up and showed they can be first graders."

The development of those players provides optimism for the future as Canowindra looks to rebuild and return stronger in 2027.

Although the First Grade side's season has come to an end, there is still plenty to play for across the Tigers club.

Miller highlighted the Canowindra League Tag side's ongoing finals campaign, with the women's side still in contention.

"Our League Tag girls are four from there in the semi, so the club still has semi final hopes there and we're still behind them," he said.

While injuries ultimately ended the Tigers' First Grade finals hopes, the resilience shown throughout the season has given the club plenty to build on moving forward.

For a team that spent much of the year battling against the odds, the courage, unity and emergence of young talent will stand as the defining features of Canowindra's 2026 campaign.