The Boorowa Rovers went within a field goal of winning the George Tooke minor premiership, but they did do enough to gain home ground advantage and the double chance when they face third-placed Crookwell this coming Saturday.
Requiring a win of 15 points or more last week, the Rovers won 28-14 over the Green Devils, meaning they finished level with not only the same number of competition points as Bungendore but also the same for and against record.
Unfortunately for the Rovers, a countback rule gave the Bungendore Tigers the slight edge and the week off that comes with winning the minor premiership.
It was a thrilling climax to the regular season, which has been the closest in many years.
Boorowa got off to a great start, scoring after six minutes when the lethal combination of Nick Stephens and Austin Power created the first try for Austin.
Cross converted for an early 6-0 lead.
The Rovers went further ahead when an on-fire Jared Prosser dissected the defence for another four-pointer.
At 12-0, the Rovers were on track, but no one told Crookwell that, as they replied five minutes from halftime with their first try. That remained the halftime score, and with just 35 minutes of the regular season left, any one of three teams could still come out on top.
Just five minutes into the second half, Boorowa blew the match wide open with back-to-back tries in the space of two minutes. First to cross the line was Ned Evans with a bullocking run, followed by Austin Power, who gladly ran onto a beautiful flick pass by Nick Stephens to score.
At 22-6, Boorowa looked on their way to a minor premiership, but the Green Devils weren’t about to hoist the white flag. Crookwell scored consecutive tries, but after failing to convert them, they still trailed by eight. Time was against both sides as both had to score twice to take the first position away from the Tigers.
With just seconds on the clock, the dynamic Boorowa halfback Josh Dean darted over to score, which Cooper Cross converted to make the final score 28-14. The Rovers had done enough to secure second spot but fell short of the minor prize.
The best and fairest points went to Jared Prosser with three points for a sublime game. His kicking game was exceptional and played a crucial role in the victory. Two points went to Matt Canellis, who produced a powerful game in both attack and defence, leaving a few Crookwell forwards battered and bruised, whilst Maty Batt, who did the hard yards up front, picked up one point.
The player went to the hard-wor-ing hooker Hamish Scott, who never puts in a bad game.
Boorowa 28, Austin Power 2, Jared Prosser, Josh Dean, Ned Evans tries, Cooper Cross 4 Goals beat Crookwell 14, Rhys Secomb, Jonothan Cotterill, tries, Zach Hart 1 Goal.
In other games last weekend, Harden 80 defeated UC Stars 10, Binalong 22 beat North Canberra 20 and Snowy River Bears 40 beat Googong Goannas 12, whilst Bungendore had the bye.
This weekend will see the start of the finals, which promises to be the closest series in many years. The five remaining teams are all capable of winning the title. The elimination semi will see old foes Binalong and Harden clash at McLean Oval in Harden. These teams have met twice this season, with the first round going to Harden 22-14, whilst in the second round Harden scraped home 14-12. This will be close, but at home, Harden should do enough to get the win. Hawks by 6.
The qualifying semi-final will be a replay of last weekend’s final round between the Rovers and the Green Devils. Again, the stakes will be high with the winner earning the right to play Bungendore next week in a grand final qualifier. Having met just seven days prior, no doubt the coaches have been busy developing a strategy to win this week. The teams have met twice this year, with one win each, so the result is a bit of a lot-tery. It may well come down to the side that commits the fewest errors. Crookwell do have a couple of big boppers up front, which the Rovers did generally manage to shut down last week.
Meanwhile, the Rovers were menacing out wide with Nick Stevens and Austin Power looking extremely dangerous. Crookwell will be keen to shut down Jared Prosser’s kicking game, which was so effective last week. This clash will be a beauty, but with home ground advantage and the confidence from last Saturday’s win, Boorowa should sneak home in another close one.
Tip: Rovers by six.
It’s going to be another massive weekend at the Boorowa Showground. There is a game before the main event, which will be between the Harden Hawkettes and the Crookwell She Devils at 1 pm. The main game between Boorowa and Crookwell is a 2.30 pm kick-off.
See you there.
– Sand Boy
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.