Jack O’Connor took on the coaching role for the Harden Red Devils this year. He did it to help out the Club and a mate. He said, “We would have loved to have had Adam Walsh coach again this year, but he had some family and work commitments and it was just one thing we could take off Adam’s plate at the moment and still have him involved.”
Walsh has still managed to contribute in 2019 and will be firing for the Semi Finals. The former Australian Schoolboy continues to add grunt to the Harden pack and his ability to play all 8 positions in the forwards is vital to the Devils’ run home.
O’Connor hasn’t had it easy over the last few weeks. He said “I was talking to Polly Thurkettle and John and Peter O’Connor and a few other guys and they can’t remember having 12 or 13 players unavailable from one week to another. Our depth has really been tested, we have had guys overseas, injured and sick, we had a man flu going around the last couple of weeks. From a coaching point of view the comp this year is so strong. We have had to learn to come from behind and we have learnt to push for the win and not lay down.”
At 26 O’Connor is nearing the prime of his career. He was terribly unlucky not to be selected in the NSW Country Cockatoos squad last month. Team mates Shahid Khalfan and Ben Lenehan will fly the flag for the Harden Red Devils later in the year. If given the opportunity again in 2020 you could expect O’Connor to further excel. For now, his eye is on the next game, defeating Grenfell at Grenfell before a Semi Final against Coota at Coota the following week.
He has been back on the family farm since the start of last year and has been working on and off farm in the family business. He highlighted the experience passed on from Brad Cavanagh, Nigel and Greg Brown and Andrew Fitzpatrick. “You learn so much from those fellas and I’m still learning every day. I work with my Dad and 3 uncles, these guys have been doing this for 30 and 40 years.”
The drought continues to play havoc on New South Wales farms and it has caused those he knows to suffer further north and west of his home town of Harden.
Harden showed their resolve by taking 13 players to Condobolin earlier this year and pulled off an unlikely win. They defeated Condobolin on Saturday 33-28 at Harden and Jack acknowledged the drought, he said, “We know blokes who have had to sell their farm from Condobolin. You go through places like Forbes and Condobolin and Dubbo and you can see how bad it can get out there.”
Competition front runners Cootamundra have him excited for the upcoming Semi-Finals, “I love that they are going so well because it is good for the area. The comp is so tight, Young were unlucky to miss out on the finals. It’s not clear cut.”
O’Connor said, “We have had a lot of guys put their hand up and help us out. We have been setting the tone with our defence. Sometimes we have forgotten how to attack because we have put such an emphasis on defence. We are in the exact same position as last year, we finished second and now we have the opportunity to travel away in a Semi next week. Guys like Mark Elia and Berkrey, they have come across from league, Aaron Byrne, these guys are winners and seasoned veterans, they thrive off these sort of situations they will be tough to beat. The depth of our squad has been great, Nick Alcorn came back, Henry Messner, James Wallis and Johnny Manchester played sick. They just didn’t want to let the boys down. Every single one of the boys is from Harden or has a connection to Harden, they just love playing for each other.”
Jack O’Connor showed some deft touches with the boot against Young a fortnight ago.
O’Connor has played all over the world and said there is just something about playing for Harden. “Those moments when we are down 7 points behind the Yabbies and you have to pull everyone in and say do we want to win or lose this game, not one person shook their head or went off, we just lift.”
“We expect Coota to be strong, we are not strangers to the fact they are going to have a home ground advantage. We have timed our run pretty well and we are hitting our strides now.”
Jack is positive with his outlook on life, farming and that of his beloved Rugby Club. He said, “For us we can get bogged down in the day to day stuff, I love having the days where you can sit back and look at the big picture. It is just about being better than you were yesterday. Life is too short, you can take the whole thing so seriously and too seriously sometimes, you have to enjoy it, you have to have fun with it and help as many people as you can along the way.”
