Crookwell has one eye on the future ahead of Devils Day
The Crookwell Green Devils are doing everything they can to secure Rugby League's future in their area.
Following successful recent seasons in the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield (GTS) competitions, the senior club has dug deep and covered the registration costs of its junior teams, which compete in the Canberra Region Rugby League.
“This year, with the junior league, the senior club decided to cover their registrations, and we were at a meeting last night (Tuesday), and we’ve been informed that registrations are up 57%,” said Crookwell League Tag coach Chris Chudleigh.
“We’ve got five more teams than last year and two under-6s, under-8s, and under-10s (teams), which is good because the juniors are our future, and we need to nurture them a bit, or we’ll have nothing in the future.”
On Sunday, the Green Devils and She Devils will showcase their junior and senior sides in a big day of Rugby League at Crookwell Memorial Oval.
Coined ‘Devils Day’, Crookwell hosts the UC Stars in Round Four of the 2024 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield.
The juniors kick off the massive day at 9 a.m., and junior games will be played at halftime of both senior matches.
“It’s going to be really good on Sunday because it’s the only chance we’ve got to have all teams playing on the same day,” Chudleigh said.
“There will be under-6s right through to first grade, and the kids love it; they’re all queuing up to be ball boys, and they love watching them.
“The weather is the only thing that might dampen it, but otherwise, it should be good.”
Chudleigh is excited to see what his She Devils can do against a struggling Stars outfit that hasn’t won a game yet.
In contrast, the Crookwell team has won two of their first three games, defeating Binalong 24-14 in Round One and Boorowa 12-10 in Round Three.
The side’s only loss was a 28-4 defeat to Cootamundra in Round Two.
“I am really happy with how we’ve started because this weekend will be the first time we’ve had a full squad,” he said.
“We were a few short the first week; the Della girls were out against Coota, and last week, all the young ones had rep hockey in Sydney.
“We come from behind in both of our wins, and I’m not disappointed with the loss against Coota.”
Chudleigh, who’s previously coached the Green Devils, was in charge of the She Devils when they lost the 2019 Grand Final to Harden.
Following a break from coaching during the Covid-impacted seasons, he returned as coach of the She Devils in 2022 and is into his third successive season coaching the side.
“They are a really good group of girls,” Chudleigh said.
“They are pretty tight, which is a bit surprising because my oldest girl is 35, and there are four or five who are 17, but they get along really well.
“The beauty of it now is that we’ve had some under-16s sides, and we’ve got those players filtering through, and we have a good mix of experience and youth.”
In recent seasons, the She Devils have been thereabouts. Last year, the Crookwell side fell just one game short of the Grand Final, losing to Cootamundra in their preliminary final.
Their coach believes a more mature outfit can vie for a title in 2024.
“I think if they keep going the way they’re going, and we keep that consistency with the side, we can beat any team,” Chudleigh said.
“Harden is our bogey side, and they’re hard to beat; there are not many better League Tag teams going around, but I’m confident we will beat Cootamundra next time we play them with a full squad.
“We have turned things around a bit, and even this season, both our wins have seen us come from behind.
“We’re a bit more focused on playing a full game, and we’ve matured a bit with the core group of girls having played together for a couple of years now.
“They are starting to understand each other, and even though we’ve been short to start the season, they have been pretty gutsy efforts, and I’ve told the girls these results will help them later in the season.”
While the Stars have struggled in recent weeks, losing to Cootamundra 42-nil, Harden 50-nil, and North Canberra 30-nil, Crookwell won’t be resting on their laurels.
“That’s been our focus this week: wanting to dominate as much as possible,” Chudleigh said.
“This will be the first time we’ve had a full squad, and we want to dominate as much as possible.
“There’s no complacency, and we have no reason to be too cocky because we haven’t run away with any game, so we’ll be working on turning up and playing a full game.”
Hawkettes keep up winning ways
It was an entertaining Round Three of the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield League Tag competition.
In the match of the round and a replay of the 2023 Grand Final, Harden held on for a thrilling 20-14 win over Cootamundra at McLean Oval on Saturday.
The Hawkettes scored four tries to three to go top of the table.
The only other undefeated team in the competition is the North Canberra Bears, who were a class above the UC Stars when winning 30-nil at Kaleen on Saturday.
Rebecca Guest crossed for a double, and Kezia Hughes-Watts scored a try and added three conversions in the six-tries-to-nothing victory.
The returning Binalong Brahmans won their first game of the 2024 season, defeating Bungendore 38-6 at Binalong Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Annie Kent scored two tries in the big win.
Crookwell came from behind to defeat a brave Boorowa side, with Jayde Della crossing for both of the She Devils’ tries as they won 12-10 at Boorowa Showground.
Click here for the League Tag standings, results, and draw.
Bulldogs go top of the table
On Saturday, Cootamundra defeated Harden for the first time in many years in what turned out to be a good contest at McLean Oval.
The Bulldogs were fired up after back-to-back wins, scoring a tight 18-14 victory over the Hawks.
This result moved them into the top spot on the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield leaderboard.
Binalong maintained their perfect record in the top-of-the-table clash, defeating the previously ladder-leading Bungendore Tigers 24-22 at Binalong Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Daniel Jacobs and Michael Gordon crossed for doubles for the Tigers, but the home side, led by Ryan Prins and his two tries, edged the visitors to win by two points.
In an entertaining Grand Final replay, Boorowa heaped more pain onto a winless Crookwell, winning 38-28 at Boorowa Showground on Saturday.
With 12 tries scored, it was a game dominated by attacking play, and the Rovers got the job done to move into fourth on the competition ladder.
North Canberra got their season rolling following a comfortable 48-14 win over the UC Stars at Kaleen on Saturday.
Following tough losses to Boorowa and Binalong, the Bears scored nine tries, as William Bourgault crossed for a hat-trick and Dylan King scored a double.
Click here for the League Tag standings, results, and draw.
