Rovers Centre Will Fahey Scores for the Rovers last Saturday.
Two old foes will lay it all on the line this Saturday when the Boorowa Rovers take on the Harden Hawks in the George Tooke Shield Preliminary Final. For the winner, the prize is a trip to Bungendore to take on the defending premiers in the Grand Final, whilst the loser will lament what could have been.
The teams have followed very different paths to be where they are this weekend. The Rovers defeated Crookwell in week one of the finals but suffered a devastating 26-22 loss to Bungendore last Saturday, whilst Harden extinguished the Green Devils’ fire last Saturday, winning 48-6 following their gritty 10-8 victory over Binalong in week one of the semis.
The Rovers and the Bungendore Tigers clash last Saturday was a battle for field position early, before Boorowa drew first blood. It was Will Fahey who breached the line after eight minutes, which Cooper Cross converted for a 6-0 lead. In the blink of an eye, Boorowa were in again when Austin Power sliced through four defenders to score from twenty meters out. Cross converted and at 12-0 in thirteen minutes, Boorowa looked to be on their way to victory. However, Bungendore are Premiers for a reason, and struck back after 22 minutes through Harry Buckley to make it 12-6.
Just three minutes later, Boorowa replied through Power again, who caught the defence napping and scooted over from dummy half to make it 16-6.
From the ensuing kick-off, Boorowa coughed up possession, and in doing so, they paid a heavy price. Tigers’ halfback Carl Johnson scored off the next set to make it 16-10 to the Rovers, with the score remaining that way at halftime.
The second stanza promised to see a lot of points, and it took the Tigers just three minutes to score through Matthew Holmes. At 18-14, the game was in the balance, but the Tigers began to have the better field position.
The Rovers were again on the wrong side of a heavy penalty count and made some crucial handling errors in their own twenty. Boorowa found it difficult to get out of their own half, and it was only their determined goal-line defence that kept them in the lead.
The task was made even tougher when Boorowa’s five-eighth, Jared Prosser, was sent to the sin bin for holding the man down for too long. The weight of possession began to take its toll on the Rovers’ defence, and following another handling error just out from their own line, the defensive line finally opened for Tigers half Carl Johnson to score his second try with just eight minutes left.
Just minutes later, Bungendore scored again when hooker Ben Rayner darted over to give the Tigers a ten-point buffer at 26-16.
The Rovers would not surrender and finally scored their first points of the second half when the George Tooke player of the year, Cooper Cross, crashed over next to the posts. He quickly converted to make it 26-22 and give the Rovers one last set of six tackles to snatch the victory. The Rovers quickly shifted the ball along the backline, and with seconds to go, Jared Prosser put up a kick that was deflected by Bungendore in a thrilling finish.
The Rovers’ best player was Austiin Power, who not only scored two tries but saved three or four more with his outstanding defence.
There’s no doubt the Rovers can beat Bungendore, but they will have to work on their ball control and discipline. However, before that, standing in their way is a committed Harden Hawks line-up, who, after finishing fourth and being thrown into sudden-death games each week, now believe they can still win the competition. They had a gritty 10-8 victory over Binalong in week one and last Sunday disposed of the third-placed Crookwell, dumping the Green Devils out of the premiership race. The Harden Hawks blew Crookwell off the park in the first half last Sunday.
Five converted tries and a 30-0 lead at halftime had Hawks supporters already thinking about the preliminary final. Crookwell scored its only points early in the second half, but the damage was already done. Harden added three more tries after halftime to run out deserved winners.
Coach Nick Hall, when talking about the big Harden victory and recent good form, said that in recent weeks, Harden has gone back to the simple philosophy of “Simplify and Identify” when executing a game plan.
Hall said that they just try to complete their sets and do the simple things right.” “The rest will take care of itself.”
Coach Hall said he has the utmost respect for the Rovers and knows that the big Boorowa forward pack will try to dominate the smaller Harden side. He would have relished the opportunity for Boorowa and Harden to play in the Grand Final, but acknowledges that at least one team in the region will play in the decider on Saturday week.
Very little separates these two teams on paper. They have met twice this season, with both teams winning on their home turf. Harden won 22-10 in round eight, whilst just three weeks later, Boorowa turned the tables, winning 32-28 in a high-scoring encounter.
With a dry day expected on Saturday, both sides are likely to throw the ball around. If Harden is to win, they will need to shut down the Rovers’ pacey backline with Austin Power, Nick Stephens, and the scheming Josh Dean electric in open space.
Coach Hall believes his forward pack is very mobile and agile, making them a dangerous proposition. Harden also has speed out wide with Tom McIllHatton, Riley Manwaring and the dangerous Jayden Cutting at half-back.
Hall compared the rivalry between Harden and Boorowa to that of cats and dogs fighting, with the honours usually shared. This applies both to the players and the enthusiastic supporters.
If Boorowa are to win, they will need to play a more disciplined game. Whilst their goal line defence has been outstanding, their ball control and discipline probably cost them the game last week. The Rovers have a lot of points in them, and if they get an even share of the ball, they will be hard to stop, particularly out wide.
Home ground advantage may play a part for the Rovers with a big home crowd expected, but Harden have their own passionate supporters and paid little attention to any advantage Crookwell had on their home ground last weekend. Boorowa were still smarting over what could have been against Bungendore, but coaches Alex Stewart and Cooper Cross will have quickly moved on during the week to rectify their ball control and limit their indiscretions.
Both teams are carrying players with injury concerns, but as Harden Coach Nick Hall alluded to, “It’s part of the game at this time of year. It’s all about player management.”
One thing is that whoever wins on Saturday will have earned the right to take on Bungendore, who have been reasonably relaxed through the last four weeks, playing just one game. The Hawks and Rovers will be battle weary, but that could work in their favour.
Tipping a winner in this game is like tossing a coin, and maybe extra time will be required on Saturday to split these combatants.
The George Tooke action kicks off at 2.30 pm at the Boorowa Showground, whilst the league tag between North Canberra and Crookwell will start at 1.00 pm. See you there.
– Sand Boy
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