Heath Kirk (right) turned back the clock on Saturday, chipping in off the bench. Kirk will celebrate 30 years this year since he first donned a Devil’s jumper in 1993.
The unbeaten Harden Red Devils are top-of-the-2023 South West Cup men’s table following a convincing 24-12 road victory over the Cootamundra Tri-Colours on Saturday.
Playing in Round Four of the competition, Harden was on the board first, and the visitors led 10-7 at halftime, with a number of penalties from the ref helping Harden march up the field.
They pulled away for an impressive 12-point win in wet and slippery conditions. “We just turned up on the day, and Coota didn’t,” Harden Red Devils coach Jack Alcorn said.
“Coota still has a powerful team, but we played to the conditions, and we were really tight in our forwards, and what we have been working on at training was coming through in our performance, especially in our rucks and things like that.”
The Red Devils won the battle in the middle, with their pack proving too strong for the Tri-Colours engine room. “Jack Rudd in the second row absolutely killed it, and our whole forward pack was excellent,” Alcorn said.
“The front row, seconds, and back three dug in there.
The backs didn’t see a lot of ball because it was too wet, but our forwards paved the way.”
Harden has quickly progressed from a top-four hope to one of the competition favourites, with the Red Devils drawing with Boorowa 24-all in Round One before knocking over Temora 22-5 in Round Two and West Wyalong 62-10 in Round Three. Alcorn believes Saturday’s win over Cootamundra proves his side can mix it with the best.
“It’s changed our whole season, and we’ve gone from a potential finals grab to hopefully making a Grand Final or going all the way,” Alcorn said.
“There’s still a long way to go, but it was a great win, giving everyone a lot of confidence.
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