The Brahmans demonstrated that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the George Tooke Shield competition in 2014 with an impressive trial hit-out against Harden at McLean Oval last Friday night.
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The wet weather made conditions very difficult for the players, something which would have suited Binalong's wide sweeping and long passing game a lot less than the home team. After only eight minutes of play, Brahman Dave Brown beat all defenders to score down the right side.
Very soon after, with the visitors attacking the Hawks line, right winger Riley Manwaring seized on a long pass, intercepted it and ran the length of the field to plant the ball under the posts. So with the scores locked at six a piece, the players went to the first break.
When play resumed, Binalong set about a clinical destruction of their hosts. The greasy conditions made ball handling very difficult and there was a lot of dropped ball, but the Brahmans had the better of it and piled on more points.
Harden made life easier for the Brahmans by giving away far too many penalties, ill-discipline throughout increased with sheer frustration at not being able to penetrate the brutal Binalong defence.
To their credit, the home side did mount some impressive attacking plays close to the Brahman's line. Dave Brown and Scott Naughton harassed the opposition all night. In reply, former Brahman players' Brent Turner and Johnny Hill could not come up with much to dent their old club's resistance.
Displaying improved form, Reuben Olah playing on the visitor's left wing had a good night and claimed a try late in the match. Trial matches usually display some rusty performances, but the Brahmans showed little if any of this. The Hawks could well have made life easier for themselves had they not raised the ire of referee Matt Hall, with repeated infringements.
So with the score at 22-6 the trial concluded and these two teams will meet again on May 24 at Binalong for the Brahmans' Reunion Day. This promises to be a very large gathering of former players at the Binalong Golf Club after the game, tickets for the function will be $30 per head.
Bos indicus.