Whilst the Brahmans are clearly a far cry from the dynasty that ran the George Tooke Shield in the mid-2010s. There’s still optimism to be had within the locals with plenty of young stars emerging from the ruins of a season that has only seen them win one game.
Dylan Arabin and Will Goode, two locally raised boys, have been standouts in the Brahman’s team so far this season, Goode being the team’s lock and Arabin the fullback. Ben Spencer, the club’s president, and a key part of the Brahmans team that managed to win three consecutive Grand Finals, is still going strong at 32, playing in the second row alongside Captain-Coach James Croyden.
Though the Brahmans are having a difficult season, they’ve had many close games, such as their 16-26 defeat against the North Canberra Bears at the start of the season. Another example of the team’s courage is their 18-point loss versus a Bungendore Tiger’s team that is yet to lose a game.
It would be a case of wearing rose-colored glasses if we weren’t to discuss the team’s more considerable losses vs Cootamundra, where they lost 48-0 or the game vs Crookwell, which saw them lose 42-6.
So far, the highlight of the Brahmans’ season came in round two, where they scored their first and only victory of the season, beating the Boomanulla Raiders 24-12 in Boomanulla. Though the team is yet to enjoy much success through the 2022 season, they’ve got upcoming fixtures that the playing group will see as winnable.
First up, after the bye, they’ll be playing a familiar foe in the Harden Hawks. Harden has seen plenty of improvement this year under Cherry Pickers legend Nick Hall. Even with this improvement, Harden and Binalong often size each other up well and lift against the superior side.
Though the Hawks are doing better now, I’m sure Benny Spencer can remind all the troops about the times Harden went down in the early 2010s. Whilst there are apparent differences in the teams from back then, the Brahmans will still have that fighting Binalong spirit that the people in Binalong love and the people outside have come to hate.
Next weekend is a rest which will give them plenty of preparation before a bottom-of-the-table clash vs the UC Stars. The teams played at the beginning of the season in which the Stars were the victors winning 22-12. However, this game will be in front of a Binalong crowd, so anything could happen.
Next will be the Cootamundra Bulldogs in Coota in what promises to be a tough-fought game against a team striving for the top four. Hopefully, they’ll end the season in style against a Boomanulla side they were victorious over earlier in the season.
Though it’s clearly a rebuilding season for the Brahmans, there’s always next year. With the young players developing at rapid speeds and the veterans not showing any sign of slowing down, hopefully, next year can be the year of the Brahmans.
Tully Potts
