Boorowa Fullback Austin Power under pressure by Harden defence.
The Boorowa Rovers have suffered their second straight defeat when they went down to the Harden Hawks by 22-10 at Harden. There was a healthy crowd on hand with many supporters making the trip across from Boorowa. It was a game that was dominated by defence early before the game began to open up in the second half.
The Rovers began strongly to open the score after just seven minutes when Nick Stephens swooped onto a ball for a 4-0 lead to the visitors. Harden hit back after 19 minutes when Hawks halfback Jayden Cutting crossed for a converted try and a 6-4 lead to Harden.
The rest of the half saw Harden dominate possession and field position, but a determined Boorowa defensive line held firm. The score remained at 6-4 going into oranges which for Boorowa was a good result.
The goal line defence was exceptional, but the Rovers certainly used up a lot of juice without the ball.
The second half was just five minutes old when Harden crossed for their second try through Jack Nichols to give the Hawks an eight-point lead at 12-4.
The home team went further ahead when winger Steele Rudd scored off a well-placed kick and suddenly Harden had the biggest lead of the day at 16-6.
The Rovers were still confident they could bridge the gap and when Matt Canellis scored his weekly try, the margin was back to six points, and it was game on with enough time left. However, Harden would have the last say in the scoring when Jayden Cutting went over for his second try which was converted for the final score of 22-10.
Both sides still have plenty of work to do after being guilty of dropped balls and unnecessary penalties. It was a game that Boorowa could have won, and they will get their chance for redemption in just four weeks at Boorowa.
The best and fairest points went to Matt Canellis with three points, James Farrell got two points, and Nick Stephens got one point. The Players Player went to James Farrell who continues to shine every week.
Harden 22 defeated Boorowa 10, Nick Stephens, Matt Canellis tries, Cooper Cross 1 Goal.
In other games last weekend Bungendore 28 beat North Canberra 18, Crookwell 46 defeated Snowy River Bears 6 and Googong 32 scored their first win over the UC Stars 4.
This weekend in round nine, UC Stars host North Canberra, Snowy River Bears are home against Harden, Crookwell host Googong whilst in the match of the round, the Boorowa Rovers travel to Binalong to take on The Brahmans. Bungendore have the bye.
The ladder sees, Bungendore 11, Harden 10, Binalong 9, Boorowa 8, Crookwell 8, Snowy River Bears 6, North Canberra 2, Googong 2 and the UC Stars 0.
Note that Bungendore haven’t had the bye yet so they will drop down the ladder this weekend as no competition points are allocated for a bye. The Rovers have their third tough outing away from home in a row when they take on an inform Binalong this Saturday.
Despite losing back-to-back games, the side is still full of confidence they can mount a serious challenge for the title. Their goal line defence has been excellent and the most points scored against them so far is 22 which is the best record in the competition. They have plenty of weapons in attack and if they can get their fair share of ball and limit their errors they have shown they can match any side.
They have now played every team except Binalong which is this weekend and North Canberra which was a washout.
The game against Binalong at Binalong this Saturday will start at 2.15pm. Enjoy your footy.
-Sandboy
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