By Jeff Hanson
Cold and windy conditions greeted supporters who turned out in droves to watch the Boorowa Rovers take on the Bungendore Tigers in their 2023 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield qualifying semi-final at Boorowa Showgrounds on Saturday.
In a match of two halves, the home side emerged triumphant, with the Rovers defying a slow start to run away with a comfortable 36-6 victory over the Tigers.
It wasn't a place for the faint-hearted in an absorbing first half, as two big packs went to battle in the middle third of the field.
Patrick Pryor, Scott Geronimi, Brad Laurent, and Ben Reeves led a very physical Tigers outfit, and if it were a boxing match, Bungendore would have edged Boorowa by a points decision in the first half.
Still, Alex Stewart, Cooper Cross, Trent Crawford, and Will Sullivan helped the Rovers through a tough 35 minutes, with halftime proving the tipping point.
The second half could not have been scripted any more differently from the first half, with teams scoring at a point a minute.
Boorowa came out of the sheds on fire, while Bungendore was flat as a tack.
Taking advantage of a Bungendore error, Nicholas Stephens scored on the right edge, with Cooper Cross converting to make it 6-nil after 39 minutes.
Soon after his side's first try, Austin Power, arguably his side's best player on the day, stepped and weaved his way through for an entertaining try to the left of the posts, and Cross made no mistake, converting to take Boorowa ahead 12-nil just six minutes into the second half.
Bungendore looked to make a game of it when Geronimi barged his way over, making it 12-6 with 25 minutes left on the clock.
The Rovers were having none of a Tigers fight back and finished the game with a flurry of tries.
Stephens crossed for his second meat pie moments later, and Cross maintained his perfect record with the boot, taking Boorowa ahead 18-6 after 51 minutes.
Will Fahey then had the big Boorowa crowd roaring in delight, with the speedy winger making a decisive break and finishing off the play was Will McGuiness, who scored to the right of the posts.
Cross again converted, and the Rovers were on a roll, leading 24-6 after 56 minutes.
A Bungendore sin-binning didn't help their cause, and the Rovers made them pay, scoring two late tries to add salt to the wound.
Prop Murray Armour had the home fans cheering when he was rewarded following a significant stint in the middle, scoring a try from close range.
With Cross taking a well-earned spell, Jarden Cutting took over kicking duties and converted the try, making it 30-6 after 67 minutes.
Fahey then added the icing to the cake when he found space on the left edge, and from within his half, he sprinted the best part of 60 metres to score the try of the match when putting the Steeden down under the post.
Cutting made easy work of the conversion, putting the exclamation mark on a convincing 36-6 victory.
Boorowa now advances to Saturday's qualifying final and will take on the Green Devils in Crookwell.
There's plenty up for grabs, with the winner progressing to the Grand Final.
Still, the loser will live to fight another day when taking on the winner of Saturday's elimination final between the Bungendore Tigers and Harden Hawks.
The Hawks won their way into the match following a come-from-behind 32-14 win over the North Canberra Bears at McLean Oval.
With both teams fighting for survival, North Canberra led 14-4 early, but Harden fought back and scored 28 unanswered points to claim a historic win at home.
Click here for 2023 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield results and draws.
Bullettes topple She Devils in League Tag thriller
The match of the day at Boorowa Showgrounds on Saturday was undoubtedly the epic encounter between the Cootamundra Bullettes and Crookwell She Devils in their 2023 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield qualifying semi-final.
Crookwell turned up to play, and in a surprisingly physical contest, the She Devils led 14-10 at halftime.
In the second stanza, tagging was at a premium, and for a long while, it appeared the She Devils might cause one of the upsets of the season.
Cootamundra hit back, and following a Crookwell sin-binning, Samantha Graham crossed for the game-winning try in the final minute, ensuring the Bullettes emerged victorious 20-16.
Cootamundra progress to the qualifying final in Crookwell on Saturday, where they will play the Harden Hawkettes for a place in the Grand Final.
Crookwell is still alive, and they will trek to Bungendore to take on the Tigerettes in what should be a hard-fought elimination final.
Bungendore won their way into the game after they accounted for the North Canberra Bears 22-16 in their elimination semi-final at Harden's McLean Oval on Saturday.
