With all Canberra Region Rugby League competitions shut down for the next two-and-a-half weeks, the Crookwell Green Devils have accepted the likelihood that their season is over.
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After Canberra entered a snap lockdown last Thursday, which was extended by two weeks yesterday, and NSW followed suit with a week-long statewide lockdown on Saturday, there is currently no CRRL division running.
Though the NSW lockdown is scheduled to end at 12.01am on Sunday, August 22, there remains a distinct possibility that it will be extended.
With this weekend originally scheduled to be the last round of the 2021 George Tooke Shield and George Tooke League Tag competitions, Green Devils president Paddy Lenane understands that there may not be enough time to run finals.
Although the Crookwell men's team and Under 19s side have missed out on finals, the League Tag side is currently in fourth place and would have qualified.
"Our last game that we played against Bungendore, we drew against them for the second time this year which pushed us into fourth place," Lenane, who also coaches the Crookwell women's team, said.
"With two rounds left to go, we'd probably stay there. So we're into the semis, but I don't know what's going to happen from here."
Should the season be called off as it currently stands, Lenane is pleased with what the club has achieved in its first year back on the field since 2019.
After starting the year with six consecutive losses, the Green Devils senior men went 2-2 in their last four completed matches of the year.
The women, after a similarly slow start which included a draw and three losses in their first four games, began to find form and build confidence in their new-look squad and powered home with six wins, one loss, and one draw in their last eight.
The Under 19s, meanwhile, had arguably the least on-field success of any of the Crookwell sides and did not claim a win this year, but they also faced the greatest odds of any Green Devils team.
"I think it's been a really good year," Lenane said.
"Obviously the men have had a rebuilding year, with a lot of the older, core players having retired and a lot of new players come in. I think they've done really well.
"As far as the club goes, I think it's been a really successful year. The Under 19s struggled a little bit for numbers at the start of the year and then they got a few injuries, but they still turned up. They were playing football with sometimes nine or 10 players, but they turned up every week.
"They're the future of our club, and if they've got the guts to turn up every week and keep going, they'll be good players for the future."
Regardless of what the coming weeks will bring, Lenane said the club will focus on consolidating its progress over the next 12 months and continue building with the goal of returning the Green Devils to their position of strength in the George Tooke Shield.
"I think for the girls, they're all committed to play next year. They just want to keep going," he said.
"All the men are keen as well, and hopefully some of the 19s will push up into the first grade ranks. We're hoping to get some of those juniors into the ranks and hopefully we'll have a full 19s side next year."
The CRRL has stated its intent to provide more clarity about the future of the 2021 George Tooke competitions in the coming days.
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