By Tallon Smith

The Cootamundra Bulldogs may have had to do it the hard way and face elimination first up, but that did not deter the boys in blue and white as they cruised to a 32-18 win over a gallant Boorowa side at Les Boyd Oval on Saturday.

The match was a close affair in terms of try scoring, with the Bulldogs crossing five times compared to the Rovers’ four, but it was the Cootamundra’s perfect five from five conversion record and a penalty goal that saw them gain a quite comfortable victory in the finish.

Cootamundra First Grade coach David Buttriss said that the match was closer than many expected, but the Bulldogs were able to gain the ascendancy in the moments that mattered.

“Yeah, their goal-kicking wasn’t up to scratch and we converted I think all of ours, which obviously helped in the end,” he said.

“But credit to Boorowa, they really came out of the blocks on the weekend and just surprised us, they were really up for the challenge. 

“It was just a tight, intense battle until there was 15 [or] 20 [minutes] to go in that second half.”

Brahmans fall to Hawks at home, now face Elimination clash with Cootamundra

The Binalong Brahmans may have won the regular season duel two weeks ago, but that memory has faded quickly after a 26-16 loss to the Harden Hawks at the Binalong Recreation Ground on Saturday.

A hat-trick to Harden centre Jack Nicolls was what ultimately sunk the Brahmans, with the Hawks scoring five tries to three to set up a Major Semi Final showdown with Bungendore and relegate the home side to a must-win Minor Semi against Cootamundra this weekend.

Brahmans President Ben Spencer said that the result was a pretty disappointing one given the hype around the match, with the Hawks simply being the better of the two sides on the day.

“[It was] pretty disappointing result to be honest, [we] definitely didn’t play the footy that we’ve been playing in the last three weeks, and we sort of spoke [about how] maybe that was because the last three games were quite big,” he said.

“[We] had to be up for it mentally, and [even] the best teams in the world can’t continue doing that all the time. 

“So I guess that might have just caught up with us a little bit there and we just weren’t there [with our] mindset and stuff didn’t didn’t click for us on the day I guess.”

As for what cost the side specifically on Saturday, Spencer said the Brahmans’ edge defence was an area of concern, but mainly it was a lack of energy and proactivity on the field that cost them the chance to play for a Grand Final spot against Bungendore.

“Our defence was there, but they just got us on the edges a few times and a [via] few lucky kicks they put through,” he said.

“Probably just being on our toes and a bit more energy is what we’re [looking for], attitude and energy is a big thing in our team, and that’s been up.

“It was still a very solid game in the middle, they just got us around the edges.” 

After working hard throughout the regular season to earn the double chance, Binalong will have to use it when they host Cootamundra on Saturday for a spot in the Preliminary Final.

Kickoff in the Men’s game is at 2:30pm at the Binalong Recreation Oval.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ victory sees them progress through to the Major Semi Final in Bungendore against the Tigers for a spot in the Grand Final.

After starting the season with one win and two losses, the Harden side has won 11 of 12 games ever since in a remarkable run that sees them one win away from hosting the Grand Final.

Standing in their way is a determined Bungendore side aiming to host yet another Grand Final in their quest to end a nine-year premiership drought dating back to their 2015 after two Grand Final losses in 2020 and 2022.

That match also kicks off at 2:30pm on Saturday at Mick Sherd Oval in Bungendore.

Ladies League Tag

In the Ladies League Tag competition, Cootamundra set up a showdown with Harden for the first Grand Final spot after a 14-10 win over Crookwell at Binalong.

Maddison Gillies, Andie McTavish and Piper Scott were the three try scorers for the Cootamundra side as they held off a determined Green Devils outfit to claim a crucial victory.

The Binalong Jersey Girls will play the Green Devils after keeping their season alive with a 14-0 shutout victory over North Canberra in the Elimination Final.

Annie Kent, Brooke McKenna and Hannah Gerathy scored the side’s three tries as they beat the Bears to progress through to week two of the playoffs.

Both matches begin at 1pm on Saturday, with the Harden v Cootamundra match being played at Bungendore, while the Binalong v Crookwell match will be played at the Jersey Girls’ home at the Binalong Recreation Oval.