Clint Stevens on the charge for the Devils in their hard fought loss to Boorowa on Saturday 31-19.
The Harden Red Devils went to Boorowa on a high on Saturday after accounting for the Jindabyne Bush Pigs the previous week 25-12. The new look Devils played the Goldies on the Goldie’s Old Boys Day and knew they would be in for a tough match. With a full quota of 22 players and unlimited interchange agreed to everyone got a run. The Devils started slowly and were on the back foot from the get go. They defended well through out the first 20 minutes and were unlucky not to post the first points.
Jermaine Perenara was hardly done by when he was given a yellow card for 2 ruck infringements which had the Devils crowd scratching their head. The physicality of the game was visible for all to see with plenty of big hits, with either side not wanting to give an inch. The Goldies went in for the first 2 tries before Harden struck back with a rolling maul scoring in the corner through Clint Stevens.
The Goldies posted points again and the Devils went to the half time break behind 19-7 The second half went up a notch and the Devils came in to their own controlling the ball in the forwards and working for field position. The line outs stopped, started, slipped and farted as balls either went straight to our men, straight to the opposition or Harden didn’t put up a jumper at all. The Devils are lacking a couple of props this season and it is hampering the sides performance with a flow on effect filtering down from the front. Ben Brady filled in on Saturday however the man mountain is much better suited to the Second Row due to his height.
Veteran Heath Kirk has added some vigour and experience to the Front Row however Props are like hen’s teeth and a few back up big fellas would definitely enhance the Devils’ chances this year. Both sides kept at each other, however with a nice lead, the Boorowa Goldies went down like flies with nearly half the side sufferring cramp at one stage or another, which resulted in the clock being wound down. On the flip side, the Devils were spilling blood left right and centre. Fergus Hall had a nasty gash to his temple area which had to be strapped twice during the match and it continued to flow again two hours later at the pub. Jim Honner had the back of his head split from what looked like a stray boot. The gash was so nasty he had to leave the field and not return. Ben Brady copped one on the forehead and Jermaine Perenara had it flowing from the nose.
Toby Spackman went over for the Devils and Boorowa posted some more points to leave the score at 31-19. The Devils made it two from two in the boat race this year and will take that good form to the coast next weekend on Saturday, April 23 against Milton. This week the players will train on Thursday night before heading to the Bowling Club on Saturday to try their hand at Bowls. Most of the Devils stood up to be counted and it was a great team effort however, the points went to Joe Thompson 3, Ben Brady 2 and Jonny Ryan 1.
The Devils do not lack effort whatsoever. What they do lack is experience across the park and direction to execute the set pieces. As caretaker coach and writer of this column, I can clearly say the following: These men can go a long way this year if they can avoid distractions and knuckle down at training. There are too many chiefs and not enough indians at the moment and more indians are needed quickly for the team to succeed.
