The Boorowa Rovers made a clear statement to the other George Tooke Shield contenders last Saturday when they took the bite out of the defending premiers, the Bungendore Tigers. So far this season, Boorowa hadn’t been tested by one of the more prominent sides in the competition, but it doesn’t get much tougher than playing the defending champions.
Very little separated the two sides on the weekend with the Rovers winning 20-14 after holding a 6-0 lead at halftime. It was a game that didn’t really reach any great heights with both sides making crucial errors, but it was the Rover’s defence that proved the difference. Both sides were guilty of too many handling errors in a stop-start affair.
The game did enthral the local crowd who were delighted with the victory with the winner in doubt until the last minute. Unlike previous weeks, it was the locals that posted first points in the game after nine minutes when Jared Prosser dived on a ball from a kick through into the Bungendore in goal. Cooper Cross added the extras to make it 6-0. Surprisingly, that was to be the only points in the half as the forward packs slugged it out for dominance.
Boorowa looked as though they might have scored mid-way through the half when Josh Dean split the defence only for the attack to breakdown when he looked to offload to a support. Bungendore had the better of field position, but they couldn’t convert the attack into points. This was due to some outstanding goal-line defence by the Rovers despite the Tigers launching multiple raids only to be repelled.
In the second half, it was Bungendore who posted first points with an unconverted try to make it 6-4. The Rovers struck back when Jared Prosser offloaded a ball to a steamrolling Ned Evans who barged over from close range. Cross converted to give the Rovers some breathing space at 12-4. The reprieve did last long as Bungendore hit back after 10 minutes to make it 12-10 with 25 minutes remaining. Both sides had chances to score but the errors continued to see play breakdown at crucial times.
It was Boorowa who scored next when Trent Crawford, who was celebrating his 100th game, steamed onto the ball to score to make it 16-10. Cooper Cross cooly potted the goal and at 18-10 the Rovers again kept the Tigers at arm’s length. However, there’s a reason the Tigers are Premiers and with time almost up they found the try line again to get within four points at 18-14.
Desperation in the final minute saw Bungendore give away a penalty in front of their own sticks, 35 metres out, allowing Boorowa to soak up time with Cooper Cross lining up a penalty goal Cooper made no mistake, and the game was done with the Rovers prevailing at 20-14. It wasn’t a pretty victory, but it was a vital two competition points banked by the Rovers.
The best and fairest points from last Saturday went to Matt Canellis with 3 points. Matt was damaging in both attack and defence with some brutal tackles. Josh Dean with two points was brilliant at half back carving up the Tigers defence. Picking up one point was Jared Prosser and James Farrell. Jared slotted into the dummy half nicely doing a power of work in the absence of regular hooker Hamish Scott but will no doubt relish going back to the halves when the Hammer returns.
James Farrell was outstanding against the experienced Bungendore pack who found him hard to handle with some damaging runs.
Players Player went to Matt Canellis for another outstanding game.
Congratulations to Rovers star’s Blake Anderson and Trent Crawford who both clocked up 100 games last weekend. They are both often the unsung heroes of the forward pack who just get the job done in the middle of the action without any fanfare allowing the backline to do their thing. Let’s hope they play many more games for the Rovers.
Boorowa 20, Trent Crawford, Ned Evans, Jared Prosser, tries, Cooper Cross 4 Goals beat Bungendore 14.
In other games last weekend, Harden 70 were too strong for Googong 4, Crookwell 62 beat the UC Stars 16 and Binalong 26 overcame the Snowy River Bears 24 after trailing 18-4. North Canberra had the bye.
With six rounds gone, Boorowa is on top of the ladder with 8 competition points and is the only team still undefeated. They are level with Harden, but the Hawks have played one more game. Then comes Binalong 7, Bungendore 7, Crookwell 4, Snowy Rivers Bears 4, North Canberra 2, Googong 0, UC Stars 0.
This weekend in round seven, Binalong host North Canberra, Googong are home to the Snowy River Bears, Bungendore host the UC Stars and in the match of the round Crookwell host Boorowa. The Harden Hawks have the Bye.
It’s the beginning of a tough month for the Rovers which could well define their season. Crookwell is always a tough road trip where the weather will certainly play its part. The Green Devils will be hard to beat at home, but Boorowa should get away with the win provided they limit some costly errors from their game. Note, that the game is on Sunday at 2.30pm.
Finally, a big thank you to those that attended ladies’ day. Fun was had by all, and valuable funds were raised for the Boorowa Early Education Centre which is an essential organisation in the community.
-Sandboy
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