Harden Hawk Joie Whybrow.
The wind howled a dreary tune across McLean Oval, spitting icy rain that threatened to turn the Saturday afternoon clash into a mud bath. Despite the miserable conditions on July 26th, the stands held a respectable crowd, a testament, no doubt, to the Harden Hawks’ Ladies Day celebrations.
Colourful umbrellas dotted the terraces, a vibrant contrast to the grey skies as the Crookwell Green Devils and the home side, the Harden Hawks, prepared to lock horns in their Round 12 George Tooke Shield encounter.
“I thought we started alright,” reflected Harden Hawks coach Nick Hall after the game, “and probably lined up to Crookwell, just lacked with some completions, turned some ball over early.”
Indeed, from the whistle, the game was a tight, physical affair. The slippery ball made expansive plays difficult, forcing both sides to rely on tough carries and gritty defence. It was Crookwell who drew first blood, Jayden Eddy slicing through some determined Hawks’ defence to plant the ball down. The Crookwell faithful, huddled together for warmth, roared their approval. Josh Patterson added the extras, extending the lead to 6-0.
Harden, spurred on by the vocal support of their Ladies Day attendees, responded swiftly. Steve Anderson crashed over near the posts, and the reliable boot of Tom McIllhatton made no mistake, levelling the score. “Tom McIllhatton played pretty well on his edge,” noted Hall, highlighting the kicker’s contribution. The arm wrestle continued, with both forward packs trading brutal sets. Just before the break, Crookwell winger Rhys Secomb found himself on the end of a well-worked backline move, diving over in the corner. Patterson’s conversion attempt drifted wide, leaving the score at 10-6 in favour of the visitors at halftime.
The second half began with renewed intensity from the Hawks. Drew Arabin capitalised on a rare Crookwell error, scooping up a loose ball to race away and score under the posts. McIllhatton again converted, putting Harden in front for the first time at 12-10. The momentum swung back and forth like the biting wind.
Crookwell lock Andy Leonard powered his way through three defenders to score beside the posts, and Patterson made amends for his earlier miss, nudging the Green Devils back into the lead at 16-12. The tension was palpable. The rain continued to fall, mirroring the ebb and flow of the contest.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Jayden Cutting crossed for Harden, a moment met with a surge of excitement from the home supporters.
“Jayden Cutting, just his effort in everything he does, he’s always trying hard. He’s very competitive and played pretty well,” praised Hall.
Zakaia Lewis then stepped up to take the conversion and calmly slotted it through the posts, edging Harden ahead 18-16. However, Crookwell had the final say. With just five minutes left on the clock, Jayden Eddy showed his class once more, weaving through tired defenders to score his second try of the afternoon. Patterson converted, giving Crookwell a crucial four-point buffer at 22-18.
Despite a desperate final push from the Hawks, the Green Devils held firm, securing a hard-fought victory in the challenging conditions. “It was a tough game, start to finish for us,” Hall admitted. “They are a good side and a few new blokes, new faces, a couple of tough old props and a couple of fit, fresh, young blokes – they are a well-balanced side as well, and they are going to give it a shake this year.” He conceded, “They got us, they were too good for us on the day, but I think we competed, and there were some things that frustrated us in our performance. There were just a few little things that we were just not quite clicking on right now, and we are aware of them, and we are working towards them.”
Hall remained philosophical about the loss. “I’ve been doing it (coaching) long enough now, I don’t get too rattled by wins and losses, it’s just the style. There were some moments, there were some things, there was some dumb stuff in there that we’d like to fix, a little bit of discipline, a few simple errors.”
He emphasised, “As a whole, the effort is there, and once you’ve got the effort, you can stick together some performance and some communication, which can happen, but a lack of effort is a real problem. We’ve got the effort, and we just need to stick together some details.”
Looking ahead, Hall highlighted key players for Harden, stating, “I thought Alex Slavin was very good. Jack Nichols was pretty good. Corey Lucas was pretty good. It was a good performance.”
He also laid out the team’s strategy for the remainder of the season. “You need to run into the finals with a little bit of momentum and some healthy people, and then you need to stick together three or four wins at the end. It’s that simple in this comp. We have just got to reset mentally and physically. It’s been a long season, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s all those little things, so let’s go back to our families, let’s go do some personal work alone, let’s go reset, come back fresh. Take the break.”
The Crookwell players celebrated a well-earned win, while the Harden faithful, though disappointed, could take solace in a valiant effort on their special Ladies Day, a day where the spirit of rugby league shone through even the most miserable of weather, and where their coach provided clear insight into their performance and future goals.
– Tully Potts
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