![Veteran Bears forward James Cooper is in line for a seventh straight premiership in Saturday's grand final against Dungowan. Picture by Gareth Gardner Veteran Bears forward James Cooper is in line for a seventh straight premiership in Saturday's grand final against Dungowan. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/24f1f73a-f8b8-4c84-ab50-fa00e1f889a7.jpg/r0_0_4486_3011_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
And then there was one.
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In the grand final at Dungowan Recreation Reserve on Saturday, James Cooper will be the sole surviving member of North Tamworth's record six straight premierships.
It will be seven straight if they beat Dungowan in an enticing contest between two evenly matched sides.
Cooper, who played his 100th first-grade game last year, downplayed his elder statesman status in the side.
"There's blokes that are older and more experienced than I am," he said.
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"Scotty Blanch and Josh Schmiedel have both been massive for us this year."
Cooper said it was a "very different" Bears side to the one that won the last grand final, in 2019 (there were no grand finals the past two years because of COVID).
"And we've got some new players and a bunch of kids that have come through," he said.
"And, I guess, it's good to be able to bring a little bit of experience to the group," he added, in reference to himself.
The veteran forward has been named on the bench for the finale.
He said he had "enjoyed the year", especially watching the development of younger Bears.
"It's been a fun year with plenty of youth around," he added.
Dungowan edged North Tamworth 16-12 in the major semi-final at Jack Woolaston Oval this month, and Cooper said the Cowboys were favourites to win the showpiece clash.
"They've beaten us twice this year, and we've only beaten them once," he said, adding that all three games were close.
"So it could be a tight tussle," he said of the finale. "Hopefully we end up on the right side of the coin."
DUNGOWAN: 1 Trent Taylor, 2 Brock Morgan, 3 Tevita Peceli, 4 Brandon Parry, 5 Liam Mack, 6 Ethan Antzakles, 7 Matt Wilson, 8 Brett Jarrett, 9 Ryan Ingram, 10 Jason Allwood, 11 Josh McLachlan, 12 Pat Lange, 13 Cody Byrne, 14 Clay Frendin, 15 Zac Parker, 16 Lochie Collins, 17 Shaun Ferguson (co-coach). Co-coach: Luke Taylor.
NORTH TAMWORTH: 1 Yirrbi Jaffer-Williams, 2 Ashton Constable, 3 Misaele Vakacegu, 4 Jeremy York, 5 Damian Scott, 6 Ethan Collins, 7 Mitch Sheridan, 8 Jake McManus, 9 Scott Blanch (c), 10 Ben Jarvis, 11 Josh Schmiedel, 12 Jake Vost, 13 Kobe Bone, 14 Liam Ball, 15 Jake Bennett, 17 James Cooper, 18 Tevita Cegunaivalu. Coach: Paul Boyce.
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