The cold bite of a late-winter afternoon at the Boorowa Showground did little to dampen the fire in the bellies of the Harden Red Devils. For a decade, their clashes with the Boorowa Goldies had been the stuff of legend—brutal, high-quality affairs decided by the narrowest of margins. This wasn’t just another game; it was a major semi-final with the prize of a home grand final on the line.
The air was electric, thick with the hopes of a sea of gold and red, but the Red Devils were a unit, a relentless force ready to prove their worth on hostile ground.
From the first whistle, it was clear this would be a game of attrition. The home team, buoyed by the roar of their supporters, came out firing. Their heavy forward pack, which Coach Jack Alcorn would later estimate had a “couple of hundred kilos” on his boys, drove hard into the contest.
A few minutes in, a quick pass found Josh Carmody out wide, and he crossed the line for an early try. The Goldies faithful erupted, but the Red Devils didn’t flinch. Carmody’s conversion sailed wide, and the score sat at a precarious 5-0. It was a set-back, but a surmountable one. What followed was a masterclass in defensive resilience from both sides.
The Red Devils’ forward pack, a point of immense pride for Coach Alcorn, held their ground. “Our guys weren’t dropping down and punching through their line,” he would say, recognising the incredible strength of his men. Harden’s attack, a dynamic mix of skill and raw aggression, probed for openings. Players like Jeremy Martin, Jack Glover, and Jack Alcorn himself were relentless, making dents in the Boorowa line. It was a see-sawing affair, with every tackle ringing out like a thunderclap. The Red Devils’ patience and pressure finally paid off just as the half-time whistle loomed.
A perfectly executed play saw a Harden player cross the chalk, levelling the scores at 5-5 as the teams trudged back to the sheds. It was a significant moment; they had weathered the early storm and were now on even footing.
The second half began with a palpable shift in intensity. Both teams knew the game would be won or lost in the next forty minutes. The Goldies, leaning on their powerful scrum, managed to create an opportunity for Michael Berry to crash over, and Carmody’s successful conversion and subsequent penalty extended their lead to 15-5.
The Red Devils were down, but certainly not out. This was a team built on heart and grit, and they were about to show it. This was when the game’s unsung heroes truly stepped up.
Ed McGeoch, a player Coach Alcorn would later describe as not getting “the credit that he deserves,” began to shine. He had a few “real damning moments,” including a crucial charge-down deep in Boorowa’s territory. This moment of individual brilliance created a glorious opportunity, and Ollie Fairfield-Smith, who had moved back to the forwards and was having an incredible season, was there in support. Fairfield-Smith pounced on the loose ball and scored a try, showing the opportunism that had cemented his spot in the pack.
The Red Devils weren’t finished. With the energy of the crowd on the edge of their seats, McGeoch broke through the middle of the field again, creating another dangerous opportunity. Ollie Fairfield-Smith was right there once more, supporting his teammate to finish off another brilliant piece of broken play. Suddenly, the impossible seemed within reach. The scoreboard read 22-20 in Boorowa’s favour, but the momentum had swung dramatically. The Red Devils had scored twice to bring it within a whisker, a testament to their relentless spirit.
The final minutes were a blur of desperate tackles, spilled balls, and the frantic ticking of the clock. Every pass seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. Harden needed just one more try, one more moment of magic. As the clock wound down, their forwards, who had fought so valiantly against a heavier pack, dug deep one last time. They battled in the rucks and mauls, throwing everything they had at the Boorowa line. But in a cruel twist of fate, it was the Goldies who found a way to score. Michael Berry, with the final seconds ticking away, powered over for his second try. The final whistle blew. The score: 27-20.
The disappointment was immense. As the Goldies celebrated a home grand final, the Red Devils were left to reflect on a battle they had fought with everything they had. The scoreboard told a story of defeat, but the Red Devils knew it was so much closer than that.
Coach Alcorn would later point to the challenging conversions. “They were from out wide with a lot of wind,” he explained. “We could have won it if we got all our conversions… we just needed that extra try somewhere.”
It wasn’t an excuse, but a hard truth about how fine the margins were in a contest of this calibre. The Red Devils’ four tries, scored by Jeremy Martin, Jack Glover, Ollie Fairfield-Smith, and Jack Alcorn, had been fantastic, but without the conversions, the gap remained.
In the post-match debrief, the mood was one of immense pride despite the loss. Coach Alcorn highlighted the incredible team effort. “The forward pack certainly stood strong against Boorowa,” he said. “Our forwards held up. The backs were able to capitalise on a few opportunities.” He singled out the standout performances of Ed McGeoch and Ollie Fairfield-Smith, acknowledging that McGeoch’s brilliant play was so expected that he often didn’t get the credit he deserved.
The sting of the loss was real, but the focus quickly shifted. The beauty of their competition, as Alcorn noted, was its unpredictability. “It’s so tightly knit at any given point, it can go either way.”
The Red Devils had two wins over Coota during the season, a confidence booster, but they knew better than to take anything for granted. They would take it “a week at a time,” focusing completely on the upcoming elimination semi-final. They would be at home, at Roberts Park, and Coach Alcorn was eager to see a crowd come down, with “the fires pumping” and the boys ready to “put on a show for the home crowd.”
The dream of a grand final was still alive, and the Red Devils were more determined than ever to chase it. They had lost a battle, but the war was far from over. The Devils last home stand will fall on this Saturday, 3:15 pm at Roberts Park.
– Tully Potts
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