The Harden Red Devils will face the Boorowa Goldies in a re match of last year’s South West Fuels Cup Grand Final to be played at the Boorowa Showground on Saturday at 3:15pm.
The Devils had to go through Coota at Robert’s Park in what was a dour match that saw Prop Oliver Murphy go over out wide in the 74th minute, to break the 19 all deadlock and allow Liam Rowntree the opportunity to convert, which he did. Harden held off a late surge by Coota and an excellent run by Jack Hogan where Harden piled up underneath the Tri Colour Co Coach to prevent a try and hold him up next to the posts.
Harden will be returning to Boorowa just a fortnight after going down in a close one and things will need to change for the men in red to bring the silverware back to the twin towns. They need points and their defence needs to be stout and both of those aspects are improving rapidly.
The Times caught up with Coach Jack Alcorn after the win.
“We had changed a few things going into the game. I think that when we got those sort of things happening, it worked really well, and everything that we were trying to do came off quite well. I think we have still got a little bit of work to do on our defence, but that sort of stuff can be worked on and worked on well. I was very happy with how everyone played.”
Harden’s set piece is on the improve with their scrum dominant against Coota.
“The scrums basically throughout the whole game and even the lineouts, I don’t think we lost a single one of ours, and I think we might have stolen one or two of theirs, so we’re happy with them as well.
Joe Stewart has been a revelation at Fullback using excellent vision and kicking choices to put Harden on the front foot when they need to counter. When he runs, he is dangerous and puts his body on the line.
Harden looked like they were ready to die for each other on Saturday with players swarming Coota’s Jack Hogan to prevent a try which may have seen the game levelled up at 27 all with
minutes to go.
“I think the want was there and the ability like Joe Stewart had an absolute cracker of a try saving tackle. I don’t think I have seen one better. Had one of their second rowers running, he ran about 15
metres. He went straight through the line beside the ruck and wrapped this bloke up and just held him up, very rarely seen a better try saving tackle.
“Joe’s got very safe hands at the back and he’s got a footy brain about him, so he’s able to make
those decisions there and he looks up and he looks at where the defence is coming from
and Christian Johnson also had a solid game and after some apprehension at the start of the year about the rules, he has become a standout, following in his father’s footsteps as an imposing and physical player. When instinct becomes a natural move he will blow past some of the Back Rowers in the competition.
“That was something, at the start of the season, he wasn’t getting much time and it wasn’t because of his footy playing ability, it was just because of his rugby knowledge. I talked to him about that and we’ve worked on it and worked on it and now he’s in the starting side.
“He has righted that and he’s now thriving. He’s been a big one for us, having him for the year, and just his development throughout the year. He’s in our top 15 now. He’s only 18….19.”
The old man of the sea, Johnny Manchester is still there on the bench, and potentially playing in what could be a fifth grand final win at 44 and more Grand Final appearances in total after starting as a teenager in the 90s when half the side were twinkles in their father’s eyes.
“He’s a good old brain to have there, he’s a very, very good footy player, and can identify the weaknesses within the other team in different spots, so he is good to have there, if the team does start to get a little bit flustered, he can come on and just settle everyone down and make sure they get us back on the right track.
When asked, “Where do you beat Boorowa on Saturday, with them having the home ground advantage? What do you have to do to go one better this year?”
Jack said, “We have just got to trust our ability, our ball carrying and things like that and just back up our mates. If we can stop them getting any pilfers or any things like that, we can really start and get a bit of a roll on, then I think that’s going to be the key.”
A supporter’s bus is being organised for the trip, keep an eye on the Red Devils page to see if it eventuates with numbers.
The Devils will have to be better than they have all year, but they have to be better than Boorowa. The key to this and the biggest compliment to the man is being able to manage Boorowa Co Coach Keagan Size who has become a powerhouse in this competition.
Go the Devs!
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
