Coach Bruce Nixon’s smile was reminiscent of the one he wore in September last year after his side won the grand final and remained undefeated throughout the season. “This (the win) is a good start. I was a smidge worried that maybe we hadn’t done enough coming into it (the game) but my mind was put at ease shortly after kick off. We are happy with the win and I am happy with 70 percent of our performance, but we certainly won’t be relaxing,” he said after the match.

Fullback James Ferguson’s season has been put on hold while a suspected fracture to his clavicle ossifies. Ferguson saved a certain try in the opening minutes after Crookwell kicked deep into Boorowa’s territory. Securing the ball Ferguson was able to commit three attackers before support from team mates allowed a clearing kick to put play deep into Crookwell’s half.

The Goldies then began to apply the pressure. Crookwell, although keen, had trouble keeping the ball in hand. From a set piece captain Ben Patrick fired a pass to his number 10 George Gregory. Gregory picked up Nathan Nash on the run who showed clean heels over 40 metres to score the first of his three tries.

The dominance of Boorowa’s forward pack provided the opportunity for their second try through flanker Richard Manion. From a Crookwell fed scrum on Crookwell’s quarter, a strong drive from Boorowa resulted in the uncontrolled ball rolling free only to be scooped up by Manion and taken for a short trip to the try line.

Crookwell kicked deep at the re-start and the Goldies worked their way back into the Blue Heelers territory through continuous pick and drive. From here deft hands saw the ball move through the back line where Nash broke a tackle and ran 40 metres to score number two for the day and give the Goldies a 15 - 0 half time lead.

Crookwell remained dangerous throughout the match and on many occasion were let down through simple mistakes and being unable to keep the ball in hand. Unable to break Boorowa’s defences they took their chances out wide and were rewarded with a converted try early in the second half. The Blue Heelers were unlucky not to claim a second after chancing their hand only to be called back for a forward pass.

Clever positional kicking by Boorowa, reinforced by chasing defenders keen to put pressure on the opposition, allowed the Goldies to finish the match with two further tries, one to Nash and the other to Gregory. The final score was 27 -7.

Players player and three points went to Nathan Nash, two points went to Joseph Banks and one point to Duncan McGrath. Banks and McGrath are playing their first season with Boorowa in the senior competition and their individual performance and commitment to their team mates was one of the highlights of the match.

The Goldies enjoy a bye next weekend before taking on Yass in the first home game of the season on the 15th of May. The day is also the clubs “Sponsors Day” which is a chance to say thank you to our many faithful sponsors. Please come along and support your side and help us make it back to back in 2010.