Heath with former 2006 Premiership winning Devil Jamie Tredinnick in 2006.
The Harden Red Devils have Hilltops Rugby bragging rights after downing Boorowa a fortnight ago and coming from behind to defeat Young 24-14 on Saturday at Robert’s Park. Nip Nip. The Devils came up against a well drilled and dedicated Yabbies pack, but it was the determination of Harden which shone through. Young kicked off and soon after, the Yabbies found themselves in trouble when Harden Centre Ben Lenehan showed his balance, speed and strength to carve the men from Young up the middle to post the first points. He converted his own try to go up 7-0. Tom Lenehan added another try to the scoreboard after he charged through a hole to post a 5 pointer. The conversion was missed, however Harden were up 12-0. The Yabbies had some experienced players and this showed when their big Second Rower showed the Devils a clean pair of heals to dash 30 metres and score near the posts. Young converted to bridge the gap to 12-7. Jeremy Martin went into ‘beast’ mode for Harden and made 5 successive tackles on his own 22 metre line to repel the Yabbies. He picked up a nice cut under his chin for his trouble with the gash requiring 7 stitches after the match. Martin was put back together with a sausage sandwich napkin and some tape and continued to lead from the front. The match looked like it would be a high scoring affair but for the rest of the half, the match remained scoreless. Half time Harden 12-7. The Devils are currently experiencing the end of season injury toll like many clubs are. The men in red had over 10 players unavailable through injury work or other commitments and reinforcements were called in to bolster the side.
Heath Kirk may have debuted for Harden in 1992 and finished high school when half the side were still playing in the sand pit and the other half were a twinkle in their father’s eye. But Front Rowers get better with age and Kirky turned back the clock in two inspiring sections, one in the first half and the other in the second half when Harden were behind. At 42 Heath taught the opposition props a couple of lessons as he stiffened up the Devils scrum. The first 15 minutes of the second half remained a slog fest until the Yabbies broke through to post another try and a successful conversion. Young 14 Harden 12. Ben Lenehan was having a cracker of a game and was looking for more points and crossed for another try. Harden 17 Young 14. The Devils needed to score again and with Kirky up front and the rest of the side lifting, the scrums held their own and provided the backs with some ball.
Jack O’Connor kicked very well for Harden and gained valuable territory on Saturday.
Harden launched an assault from within their own half and camped themselves near the Yabbies line. Lenehan went over again and it was game over with a couple of minutes to go. He converted his try and led the Devils off with a 24-14 win against old rival Young. Harden will enjoy their 5th home game in a row after a torrid first round that saw them play matches away in games 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. They will take on Condobolin this Saturday. The Men from Shannon Noll country will have to travel well and although they sit in 4th place will test the Devils. Next week Harden will head to Grenfell to take on the once mighty Grenfell side who have since fallen on hard years. The Devils scored a bonus point thanks to their 4 tries to the Lenehans Tom and Ben, who were far too classy for the Yabbies’ backline. Jack O’Connor had some deft touches off the boot in general play. 3 points were awarded to Jeremy Martin, 2 points went to Jim Honner who might as well have a cape and a big S on his chest. Henry Messner was strong jumping at 2 and picked up a point and a mangled hand after he was stomped on. Players Player was awarded to Ben Lenehan.
