For the second Kawartha Senior Girls Rugby league game the Hawks ran out on the pitch at the conclusion of regulation in jubilation

This time they did it with a dominating effort on defence and offence against the LCVI Spartans on Thursday Oct. 11 at the Gary G. Brohman Athletic Field in front of a strong crowd lining one sideline.

Coach Alexis David was proud of the team following the win particularly how far they have come from beginners to being the players they are.

“They understand the game. They are continuously playing. They’re making their tackles. They’re making their rucks. They’re hitting all those things. So for me it makes me really proud and happy to be part of the program. I think for them it’s just building on their skills and they’re getting more confident every single time. I think that our team as a whole is just getting closer and closer together. I think that unity and togetherness is making us play better” she said.

The night before the game the team came together to focus on achieving individual goals.

“We need to help each other reach all of our individual goals” she said.

Some of the individual goals included touching the ball executing a big hit getting a run and hit every other ruck.

This game featured offensive contributions from a variety of players.

Tries were scored by Senna Marra Chloe Samson McKenna Johnston Rachael Norman and Charlotte Paton. Not figuring on the scoresheet but contributing with noteworthy efforts is Kailynn Sikma whether with long runs breaking tackles or hitting opponents.

During the game when the Hawks were executing on the field and holding their lead Hawks coach Carson MacDonald said he was happy to see the success. MacDonald has been with the program for several years.

The home game is a showcase for the girls who are proud of their school David said.

“They have that much more energy on a home field because they feel motivated knowing their friends and family are all here to cheer them on. They get so excited when [they] talk about ‘My mom got the day off work and my dad got here.’ And they’re so excited to be around their friends and families. It just amps up the intensity and they put that much more into a game. To win on home field is really cool to show how far our program has come over the years” she said.

Coming into the contest the Spartans were winless through four games and were at the bottom of the seven team league.

The Hawks are in the bottom half but are quickly moving up with five points (four points for a win and one bonus point for scoring four or more tries) on Thursday. Other points in this league are awarded with ties worth two and one point for losing by less than seven points. This lopsided victory easily puts the Hawks close to the middle of the pack. (Game results remained outstanding before press time.)

On Tuesday Oct. 16 the Hawks will host St. Mary. Their upcoming opponents on paper are beatable having given up 220 points as of Wednesday Oct. 10 while the Hawks had surrendered a 109 points less. Both teams have beaten Adam Scott. However St. Mary beat Adam Scott 27-10 while Haliburton edged them out 17-12.

Tuesday will be an opportunity and a test for both.

The victor from the game will take a spot in the standings not far from the leaders.

David knows the team can still improve even with a few games left in the regular season.

“They improve every single day even if we look at the last week’s game to this week’s game there were so many improvements in one week. They’re improving all the time” she said. “I want to see them spread out more. I want to see them move forward more on defence … today was moving in that direction. We had more and more people hitting the rucks and getting those tries. New faces and new names.”

Note: this is technically the Hawks second win out of the last three games. Haliburton officially lost to TASS by default on Oct. 5 when an official was unavailable. When asked about an appeal David wrote the coaching staff is looking into a “fair solution” or a “long term solution so this doesn’t happen again.”