George Tooke Shield: Finals Week 2 Preview
Week two of the Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield finals series kicks off this weekend, with a spot in a home Grand Final available for the Harden Hawks and Crookwell Green Devils.
GTS League Tag
Major Semi Final
Harden Hawks vs North Canberra Bears, Saturday 29 August, 1:00pm
The Harden Hawks kick off their finals campaign this weekend against the North Canberra Bears with a spot in the 2026 GTS League Tag Grand Final on the line.
The Hawks enter this weekend's Major Semi Final after the weekend off, after earning the right finishing undefeated Minor Premiers.
Led by the Smith twins, Georgia and Clare and Emma James, Harden have scored a competition high 533 points this season and boast the best defensive record conceding only 4.8 points a game on average.
Meanwhile, the North Canberra Bears won their right to contest in the Major Semi after a strong victory last weekend against the Crookwell Green Devils, courtesy of a double from their top try scorer this season, Samantha Charlton.
These two sides have met on two occasions this year, with the Hawks claiming dominant wins in both of those matchups.
Minor Semi Final
Crookwell Green Devils vs Bungendore Tigers, Sunday 30 August, 1:00pm
The Green Devils and Tigers season are on the line this weekend in a blockbuster Minor Semi Final at Kaleen Enclosed Oval on Sunday.
Crookwell earnt the second bite of the cherry after finishing the regular season in third position, and after succumbing to North Canberra last weekend, they will need to go the long way round to secure a premiership in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Tigers secured a tight 16-10 victory against the Rovers last weekend, with the highlight the performance from Ellie Shoobert who looked dangerous every time she touched the footy.
These two sides have met twice previously this season, with the record sitting at one a piece, each team securing the two points at their respective home grounds.
With a neutral venue for this sudden death final, both sides will be desperate to leave it all out there and continue their premiership tilt.
GTS
Major Semi Final
Harden Hawks vs Crookwell Green Devils, Saturday 29 August, 2:30pm
The Hawks and Green Devils do battle to host the 2026 Blumers Lawyers George Tooke Shield Grand Final in a blockbuster Major Semi Final at McLean Oval.
Harden have experienced the perfect season to date, finishing the regular season undefeated Minor Premiers earning them the right to host this encounter.
The Hawks are looking to overturn back-to-back Grand Final defeats, with this seemingly fueling their fire in this year's campaign, Jack Nicolls and Riley Manwaring will be ones to watch scoring 15 and 12 tries respectively.
Meanwhile, Crookwell earnt the right to contest the Major Semi Final after a comprehensive last weekend away from home against the North Canberra Bears, with a double from Charlie Dawson extending the fullbacks record to 11 for the season.
Whilst not everything is on the line this weekend, the winner will take a massive step to the GTS premiership earning the right to host the 2026 decider, while the loser faces the winner of North Canberra and Boorowa at home.
North Canberra Bears vs Boorowa Rovers, Sunday 30 August, 2:30pm
The North Canberra Bears welcome the Boorowa Rovers to Kaleen Enclosed Oval for a critical contest, as both side's seasons are on the line.
North Canberra suffered a defeat last weekend which sees their season turn to sudden death from now on, competition top try scorer tried his best last weekend with Iszac Bell crossing for a double in the twenty-point defeat to Crookwell.
Meanwhile, Boorowa enter the matchup with plenty of confidence after a knocking out the defending premiers, in the Bungendore Tigers, Captain Coach Cooper Cross led from the front superbly, with centre Will Fahey having some class touches in the victory.
The victor of the Minor Semi Final travels to either Crookwell or Harden next weekend for a preliminary final, whilst the losers season comes to an end.
Image by Trisha Sullivan
