The Boorowa Goldies brought home another First Grade Premiership and against old foes the Harden Red Devils on Saturday in the South West Oils Grand Final.
The game started 100 miles an hour with both sides desperate in defence.
Respect was shown with penalty goals slotted by the Goldies and the Devils to leave the score 3-3.
Rowntree for Harden 25 minutes in and Green for Boorowa 35 minutes in, just before Boorowa went further ahead.
A try to Boorowa’s George Chudleigh and a successful conversion by James Green saw the Goldie’s go to 10 and Harden remain on 3, just before the half-time siren went.
With a switch of ends, the players took off from where they left off. Set piece became frenetic at times with both sides missing opportunities in the line-out department. Harden’s scrum was better and had been on the improve all year, but when Boorowa’s was anchored by Keagan Size it was always going to be a tough day at the office.
Harden got right back in the match with a great try to Jarrod Keelan, however, the conversion which would have levelled the game up was inches inside the sideline and very difficult, being waved away to the right upright.
Size spoke of the passion of the Boorowa community, club and mentors when speaking with the paper after the 10-8 win.
“Oh, it feels amazing. A bloody good effort. Proud of everyone. For the last three years, it has been a very, very proud moment to be a captain coach.
Three minor prems. Three grand finals in a row and then to win two back to back. That’s groundbreaking history for Boorowa. I don’t think it’s ever been done. It feels awesome, and I’m proud of everyone.
“Our defence was huge all over the park. That’s what most of the game had come down to a goal.
And we know how to win the ugly ones.
When asked if doubt ever crept in, Size said, “Never had doubt. We held a fair bit of possession. We controlled the game the way we wanted to. We may have turned the ball over a little bit too much trying to play a bit expansive at times, but that’s footy.”
“We had heads up, went again and tackled. Proud as punch.”
Boorowa is one of the smaller communities in the competition which saw the largest, Young not make the finals in 2026, but expect Young to regroup in 2027 after a three-peat that saw a number of elite older players hand their jumpers back.
Size ceased on the community spirit for the win.
“Good people. People make people. They all get around us. They all enjoy it. They offer their advice, and we all listen. We thank our sponsors, our committee and our old mentors. It’s phenomenal.”
Size joked that Props are only maturing at his age (30) which is an old adage. And it’s true, meaning that he could potentially be around for another decade if he wanted to, which is a scary proposition for the other clubs.
When asked about his own future he said, “I wouldn’t know. They tell me props mature at 30.”
The Goldies partied well in to the night and the next day and will no doubt be preparing their tilt at 2028.
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