The Boorowa Goldies will enter the 2025 South West Fuels Cup Final at the Boorowa Showground on Saturday as overwhelming favourites, having lost just the one match this year against a Temora side that didn’t feature in the final series. It was the turning point for the players and the club, and they knuckled down, knowing that in this competition, any team on any day can challenge. The Goldies fell just short on the bell last year with a conversion curving to the left in wet and windy conditions. Josh Carmody no doubt had helped get them to the big dance, and his President, Adam Hick, agreed that people often only remember the one goal kickers miss, and that it’s a job that no one wants, they often step up for the good of the team if they know they strike a ball better than their teammates. Carmody will no doubt have his kicking shoes on in what should be a close affair, and it’s hoped that a win or a loss doesn’t come down to the last minute again.
Hick talked to our team at Boorowa Times and gave insight to the team that many have feared to play this year, and who many believe can get the job done if at their best. “We made the grand final last year in 2024 and went pretty close, but didn’t quite get there. We’ve got a pretty similar squad that’s come back around this year, and everyone has come into the season pretty hungry for it and wanting to go one further.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate, we’ve had a pretty good run and we’ve had a few close games, but a few things have gone our way and we were enough to take out the minor premiership and get a home grand final this year. “We lost one game in a close game to Temora in the second round of the season.
“It was a good thing for us, it gave us a little bit of a wake up call and sort of brought us back down to earth a little bit and stopped us from getting too big of a head and after that game everyone knuckled down and got pretty serious with the back end of the season and I think it has shown in those last couple of real important games. The Goldies extended their lead on the ladder by accumulating plenty of bonus points.
“I’m not sure of the exact number, but we were pretty lucky that we had a couple of games there where we put a fair few points on the board and gave ourselves a little bit of breathing room, especially since Harden weren’t very far behind us. That was probably the difference, just those couple of bonus points at the back end of the season.
“We were minor premiers in 2024. We lost the major semi to Young, but then ended up playing the grand final in Young, and just went down by two points. It is no secret that Boorowa have a very strong forward pack and experienced backline, and it’s likely the forward pack where they will try and do the initial damage.
“I think it’s no secret in the competition that we’ve got a very strong dominant forward pack who I think certainly can scrum for a long time, it has been our strength, so I think that’s something that we’re probably going to look at, to scrum when we get the opportunity and we like to play front foot footy off that, which will give our backs a bit of room to play with.
Adam spoke fondly of his love for the Goldies and the special place it has for him, the old boys and girls and the community. “We’ve got a bit of an unofficial motto, ‘which is heart of gold.’ Boorowa is a great community, there’s a heap of old boys and wider community involvement who have been part of it. It’s just one of those towns that everyone at some stage has been part of the club or helped out. So I think there’s a real sense of we don’t own the jersey, we’re just borrowing it and represent-ing not only ourselves, but the whole Boorowa community. So we are pretty bloody proud to put the gold jersey on, and it just inspires us a bit to keep going.
The Rovers will be moving their match forward so supporters of the Rugby League can make their way across to the other field for what will be a cracker of a game.
“We have got the Rovers playing as well on Saturday, so it’s going to be a big crowd on both sides, so we advise people to get here a bit early to save a bit of congestion.
Please note: Central West have an entry fee of $15 for Saturday’s grand finals. Boorowa Rugby Club encourage people to allow plenty of time to get there as it may be slower going through the gate.
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