After finishing with the wooden spoon in 2017 – Harden’s Red Devils help up the GrainCorp South trophy, a fairy tale finish to their season on Saturday.
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Despite the cold and wet conditions which would keep most people inside, hundreds turned out to see the Devils host Temora for the grand final.
The Temora Tuskers pipped Harden for the minor premiership this season, but the Devils took revenge in the best way possible. The Devils won 12-5 at full-time.
Fans of running rugby were left disappointed however, as the game quickly became a grind with both teams evenly matched.
"It was a game of two halves,” coach Adam Walsh said.
“We had all the territory and possession in the first half, and they had it all in the second half.”
Walsh praised the Devils for maximising their chances to score points when they had the ball, no easy task considering the conditions made it tricky to keep hold of the ball.
Open play with the ball during the game was often cut short, with play restarted through a scrum putting pressure on both side’s forwards to keep packing down.
Walsh praised the team for putting in, and maintaining an incredible effort to grind out the win.
“Our flanker James Wallace has had a fantastic month, Clint Stevens our captain had a great game,” Walsh said.
It’s the second time both John Manchester and Walsh have won a premiership with the Red Devils.
“(But) I’m going to take the credit, we just have had a bunch of good and enthusiastic young guys,” Walsh said.
Walsh said there wasn’t a single imported player in the squad.
“Some players have come back from university or elsewhere,” he said.
“The good thing is that every player is either born and bred in Harden, or has made Harden their home.”
The effort the Red Devils put in wasn’t only evident during the grand final on Saturday, it was clear through the entire season as they carved through the first half without a loss.
“It’s been a big year, we only dropped three games, so it’s been a good effort all year.”