Boorowa breaks 40-year premiership drought

By Jeff Hanson

A deafening roar and huge applause greeted Boorowa skipper Alex Stewart as he triumphantly lifted the 2023 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield at Crookwell Memorial Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The moment signalled the end of the Rovers' 40-year premiership drought after Boorowa came from behind to beat the Crookwell Green Devils 22-8 in the 2023 decider.

A capacity crowd was on hand, with the Green Devils supporters packing into the 'Chook Shed' while many others lined up on the southern touchline.

Boorowa's fan base matched, if not outnumbered, Crookwell's, with a sea of green and gold flooding the northern touchline.

The vast crowd, coupled with the enormity of the match and the close rivalry between these two teams, created a tense atmosphere that ebbed and flowed with every carry, tackle, try, and referee's decision.

As expected, the opening stages were physical as two big packs looked to lay a winning platform.

Dion Aramoana, Jayden Eddy, and Andy Leonard were huge for Crookwell, while Cooper Cross and Alex Stewart led the way forward for Boorowa.

In fact, Cross dominated the opening ten minutes, taking some tradesman-like carries and committing to some bone-rattling tackles.

The Rovers took advantage first, and following a Crookwell penalty, Boorowa was pestering the Green Devils line.

Jayden Cutting set up the try, delivering Cross an inch-perfect pass, and the lock-forward bounced off one defender before crashing over from close range.

Cross converted his try to take Boorowa ahead 6-nil after 12 minutes.

The Rovers had a chance to go further ahead after a sensational Jayden Cutting touch-finer, and while they went close, Crookwell's goal-line defence was resilient.

The Rovers gave away back-to-back penalties, and Crookwell capitalised on their first genuine opportunity.

Attacking the left edge, Steve Cummins went over untouched in front of Crookwell's largest contingent of supporters, sending that side of the field into a frenzy.

Aramoana converted, and the scores were locked up at 6-all after 19 minutes.

Tyler Keller was close to best-on-ground for Crookwell, with the clever acting-half causing all sorts of issues in and around the ruck, while Eddy continued to pepper Boorowa's right-side defence with strong carries.

Aramoana made a break, and the Green Devils were in a great position to score again, but Boorowa rallied and held out the home side.

With five minutes to go, Boorowa appeared to have made something out of nothing, with Austin Power putting through a well-placed kick, which Will Fahey attempted to ground.

While the Rovers celebrated the try, the referee ruled that the winger had knocked the ball on.

Crookwell had the last shot at points before halftime, and on the back of back-to-back penalties, the Green Devils were camped inside Boorowa's 20 metres.

They set up to attack left with what would be the last play of the half, but Cutting, who came from an off-side position, intercepted the ball before running half the field.

The referee blew a penalty from basically in front, and Cameron Picker potted the penalty conversion, giving the Green Devils an 8-6 lead as the two teams trotted off to the sheds.

Crookwell was uncharacteristically ill-disciplined in the opening minutes of the second half, and Boorowa pounced on the opportunity.

Cutting was again involved in attacking territory, and he passed to Murray Armour, who charged forward before off-loading back to Cutting, whom three Crookwell players tackled.

Cutting got his arm free and stretched out and grounded the ball on the white line in a superhuman effort.

Cross converted from the left of the sticks, and Boorowa led 12-8 after 40 minutes.

Boorowa had their tails up and slowly started to win the battle in the middle third of the field.

Another weaving run by Power had Boroowa in good field position, and attacking the right edge, Cutting sent a long ball to Michael Hinds, who had to catch and pass quickly to his brother Adam Hinds, who dived over in the right corner to score in front of the Boorowa faithful.

Cross missed the difficult conversion attempt, but the Rovers could smell blood in the water when leading 16-8 after 48 minutes.

It was entertaining end-to-end Rugby League as the second half wore on, but neither side could finish it off with a try.

As the minutes wound down, and Boorowa's supporters willed their team to victory, the Rovers put the result beyond doubt.

Another Power line break had his side in attacking territory, and two sets later, Cutting scooted and scored from close range.

Cross nailed the easy conversion, and the Rovers held an unassailable 22-8 lead with three minutes left on the clock.

As the final seconds wound down, Boorowa fans were a hive of excitement, and when the referee blew the final whistle, a sea of green and gold poured onto the field, with emotions spilling over as Stewart and his Rovers screamed out their team song for the first of what would be many occasions that afternoon and evening.

Jayden Cutting was justifiably awarded the Gary Marmont Medal as best and fairest of the Grand Final, while the community of Boorowa was left to enjoy their victory.

In stark contrast, a gutsy Crookwell side and their supporters were left to wonder what may have been.

In other Canberra Region Rugby League (CRRL) Grand Finals played in Crookwell on Saturday, the Harden Hawkettes held off a game Cootamundra Bullettes 10-nil in the 2023 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield League-Tag decider.

In the Katrina Fanning Shield Tier 2 decider, the Queanbeyan Blues were too good for the Harden Worhawks, winning 32-14.

Click here for all CRRL results.