Jesse Redmond playing for Harden.
The Harden Red Devils took on the Grenfell Panthers on Saturday and put in a determined effort.
Grenfell kept the boys scoreless in their first encounter and with the loss of a few players on the way and the recruitment of a few early Saturday morning, Harden managed to get a side together with the help from a few on the sidelines.
The boys took the field with nothing to loose and showed true grit and determination. A credit to the forwards who withheld a constant one out play from Grenfell and kept the Panthers at bay. With play not making it into either team’s 22, it was hard fought for the first 15 minutes.
Grenfell eventually crossed the line and nailed the conversion. The boys never put their heads down and charged straight back into them at the next kick off.
5 minutes passed and the mood from the game had been set. The ball was to be kept in tight with both teams trying to bash it through the middle to no avail. Big Ben Brady and Toby Haydon were both exceptional in their ball running and defence. Clint Stevens was his usual self overpowering most at the rucks and being a pest pilfering balls from the opposition.
Grenfell were stuck inside their 40 before they decided to spread the ball wide and try and burn the back line. The following pass was possibly the ‘Worst in Rugby History’ which allowed the newest winger to the team, Harry Sachs and intercept. Sachs put the ears back and took off. Unfortunately speed isn’t a quality of Sachs’ and he was pulled up 3 metres short of the line. Jason Mcguigan was very upset with Sachs who said he doesn’t pass to cranky old men. The ball ended up in field in Lane Gaudie’s hands and the Devils were over and back in the game. 7-5 Grenfell.
The Devils recovered the ball from the ensuing re start and were back and charging at the Panther’s line. As soon as the previous try had happened Grenfell pilfered the ball and were back in under the posts. In what seemed to be a lapse of concentration the Devils fired back up and went at the Panthers as hard as they have played all year.
New recruit Josh Fogg showed some great attacking runs bamboozling the defence with his size and speed. With the support of Jesse Redmond and Joe Thompson, the Devils found themselves 10 metres from the Grenfell line and with the support of the forwards, John Ryan managed to shimmy and shake his way over the line bringing the scoreboard to 10-12, Grenfell.
The end of the first half saw some impressive hits from Joe Thompson which took the devils into halftime 2 points behind.
The second half saw a revved up Panthers outfit come out at the Devils. Both sides new the game was there to be taken and this started to get a few blokes fired up. Clint found himself surrounded by black and white jerseys and after some push and shove, decided he enjoyed using his forehead as a means of defence and has now concluded that he will never take up a career in boxing. He decided to head off for a quick breather and the devils were down to 14 men.
The last quarter beckoned and with some impressive defence, Grenfell got the advantage over the Devils being a man down and managed to cross the line through the hard running of their oversized forward pack.
Down 19-10 the Devils did what they do best and got stuck in. Ethan Bates had a blinder as usual and again kept up with his high pitched war scream to try and shake up the Grenfell defence, to no avail. Stevens decided he had enough of a breather and was back on the paddock putting the Devils back to a full side.
With 5 minutes to go and the Devils were busted after putting in a huge effort for the last 75 minutes and the Panthers managed to push through for one last try. The final score 26-10.
The Devils showed Grenfell what can be done if you have a tight group of fellas that are willing to give everything for their club. Comments were made on how close the Harden boys are to being the team to beat but with numbers and injuries still being an issue, only time will tell if they can pull it together and finish the season strongly.
The Boys are off to Cootamundra this weekend and will be joined by the She Devils. The club looks forward to seeing you there.
