The highly anticipated George Tooke Shield clash on Saturday, July 19, 2025, saw the Boorowa Rovers emerge victorious over the Harden Hawks with a final score of 32-28 at the Boorowa Showground.
It was a game marked by intense physicality and pivotal moments, particularly those influenced by disciplinary actions, as reflected by Harden Hawks coach Nick Hall. “It was a game that was impacted by sendoffs and sin bins,” Hall explained, highlighting the ebb and flow of momentum.
“In the first half, they had someone off for 10 minutes, and in that period, we scored a couple of tries, and then the same thing happened in the second half.”
Indeed, the Hawks capitalised on their numerical advantage early on. Harden’s try-scorers included Jayden Cutting, Corey Lucas, Jack Nicolls, Alex Slavin, and Drew Arabin, with Zakaia Lewis successfully converting 4 out of 5 attempts, keeping them in contention. However, the tide dramatically turned in the second half.
“We got someone sent off, he got set off for the final 25 minutes, and in that period, they scored three tries or so and just swung it,” Hall recounted, pointing to the critical impact of the send-off on the game’s outcome. The Boorowa Rovers, with tries from Nick Stephens, a hat-trick from Will Fahey, Joe Prosper, and Cooper Cross, and Cooper Cross converting 4 of their 6 tries, demonstrated their ability to seize opportunities.
Despite the loss, Hall praised the opposition and his own team’s unwavering commitment.
“Boorowa are a good side; they’re very competitive and hard to beat at the best of times.” He continued, acknowledging individual efforts within his squad: “I thought that Captain Drew (Arabin) had some good moments. He got our players’ player award, and I thought he was pretty close. He was dangerous all day and pretty consistent. Joie Whybrow had some moments, as did Zakaia Lewis. They are all trying hard. There’s no lack of effort from the Hawks boys, so I’m happy with that. It’s just a little bit of execution.”
The defeat serves as a valuable lesson for the Hawks. “It’s one loss. We haven’t had a loss for a while, and it’s a good one, that will humble us and we’ll get back to work,” Hall stated, emphasising the team’s resilient mindset. Looking ahead, the disciplinary fallout from the send-off is a pressing concern.
“We’ve got to go through the judicial process this week. At this stage, he will probably miss a few weeks. It’s very hard to fight those things once they happen, so we’ll consider it. That’s in front of us now. We won’t know for a day or two there, but at this stage, he’s due to miss a week or two.”
Despite the challenges, Hall remains focused on the team’s internal improvements and the upcoming fixtures.
“Boorowa is a bloody good side, and it’s no good whinging. We are only really worried about our performances and moving forward. We will worry about getting ourselves right, getting our training right, doing all those little things. It’s always hard at Boorowa. Crookwell is going to be hard as well. They are going to come over here, and we are going to get a real test this week. We’ve got our eyes on Crookwell.”
He acknowledged the strength of their next opponent: “I think they’ve beaten everyone other than Bungendore this year. They are a dangerous side. It’s not going to be any walk in the park, and I reckon everyone should show up and see a good game of footy this weekend.”
Regarding team selection, Hall anticipates consistency: “It will be a very similar team; there’s one or two in and out. Luke Brown hasn’t been available, and he will be back this week. Generally, our sides are pretty similar every week, not too many changes. There’s one in there, one out, but we’re pretty much the same side we’ve had for the last few weeks.”
Reflecting on his coaching tenure, Hall shared his evolving philosophy. “I also understand my footy and what I was trying to get out of in the first year might have been a bit of a mystery. Now it’s four years in, I’ve got the opposite problem. You get bored with it, so you have to find some different things to add to the footy and add some different flavours to keep us all moving forward. For different reasons, I think we are a similar side and a similar club. Nothing has changed too much, just lots of little things.”
The Harden Hawks, though defeated, are determined to learn from this tough encounter and prepare for the challenges ahead in the George Tooke Shield season.
– Tully Potts
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