In blustery conditions, both teams struggled with their handling and kicking with the match in the balance until midway through the second half. 

In the end, it was the Boorowa forward pack that laid the platform for the backline to click into gear and take the game away from the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies began the game in the worst possible way when the kick off went out on the full. The Rovers were able to launch an attack in the early minutes and it wasn’t long before Justin Corkery crossed for his first try. 

Just seven minutes later he was in again on the end of a nice backline move. A good conversion from Steven Death gave the Rovers a 10-4 lead. 

Try number three to Corks came after 20 minutes to extend the lead to 14-4. By now Death was curling the ball better than a Liverpool soccer striker in the strong breeze as he extended the lead to 16-4. 

Five minutes before the break, the Grizzlies reduced the margin with an unconverted try to make it 16-8.

In the second half, it was the Grizzlies who dominated the field position early leading to an unconverted try to their winger wide out reducing the Rovers lead to four points at 16-12.

It looked as though it would be a tight tussle in the second half until Rovers second rower Aaron Burgess swooped on a loose ball close to the Grizzlies line crashing over for a converted try. Just three minutes later, Daniel Roberts produced a clever kick through for Mark Veness to gather blowing the score out to 26-12 in the blink of an eye.

The Rovers sealed the match when Matt Batt scored from a nice offload by Daniel Roberts who had a fine game directing his forwards around the park. The final try of the day went to the try scoring machine Justin Corkery who bagged number four for the afternoon. Death converted from right in front for a final score of 38-12.

Meanwhile the Roverettes had a much closer encounter going down by 18-14. The Grizzlies scored their opening try in the first minute with a try to Tammy Povey. Boorowa struck back after nine minutes with a try to Mackella Pye to level it up at 4-4. The Grizzlies scored again after 13 minutes through a converted try to Lucy Doble. Just before the break, the Grizzlies crossed for their third try to make the halftime score 14-4.

The second stanza saw both sides wrestling for field possession before the Grizzlies breached the Boorowa defence with 15 minutes left. The Roverettes showed plenty of fight and struck back with ten minutes remaining when Amanda Noakes scored a converted try to make it 18-10. 

With just five minutes left, Molly Stephens scored and at 18-14 the game was back in the balance. However, the clock beat the Roverettes as they desperately attacked the Grizzlies defence.

This weekend, the Rovers also take on the Gunning Roos on Saturday at the Showground starting at 2.30pm whilst the Roverettes start at 1.30pm. It’s been a promising start by both teams and this Saturday should see a big crowd gather to watch both sides weave their magic.

Meanwhile the combined Boorowa/Harden Youth league team take on Bungendore in Harden at 1pm. Although the boys went down last weekend against Yass, all reports say there is a lot to like about this team. No doubt as the combinations become stronger, a win is not far away. Stayed tuned for more detailed reports on their progress throughout the season. See you at the showground Saturday.