Hawks swoop into George Tooke Shield grand final

The Harden Hawks and Hawkettes have both booked places in the grand final of the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield, winning both home finals on Saturday 29 August at McLean Park. The Hawks found themselves behind the eight ball for much of their match against the Crookwell Green Devils and were down 16-6 before a late first half try to Drew Arabin. Zakaria Lewis added the extras, with Crookwell leading 16-12 at the break. Harden then equalised midway through the second stanza through winger Jarrod Sharman, but the kick was waved away to leave the match teetering at 16-all. With ten minutes remaining Jacob Lucas scythed through the Green Devils defence, finding centre Joie Whybrow in support. Whybrow was able to plant the ball down and book the Hawks into the big dance. The match was the closest margin of victory the undefeated Hawks have had this season, showing their ticker as they came back from a 10-point margin. Earlier on the Hawkettes league tag team set the tone for the day with a victory over the North Canberra Bears. The match was dominated by strong defence on both sides early, with the score 8-0 Harden’s way at the halfway stage. A strong passage of play saw that lead grow to 24-0, with North Canberra able to run in two late tries before Clare Smith scored her second to put the match beyond doubt. The final score of 30-12 showed their capabilities with and without the ball and underlines their claim for the title. Crookwell will get their chance at redemption this weekend against the North Canberra Bears, with the Bears eliminating the Boorowa Rovers last weekend. The Crookwell She Devils will also face North Canberra, and the winner of that will play the Hawkettes. The winner of that clash will face Harden in the grand final, to be played on Saturday 12 September.