As late as Saturday morning, the Hawks were still chasing players to form a side owing to wedding and work commitments.

Abermain had the bare 13 players from 26 registered. The club thanked Alex Barnes from the Kurri club for making the trip to play and give the Hawks one reserve on a hot steamy day.

Karuah scored first, but the Hawks hit back with a try to Craig Benson to level the scores at 6-6.

Karuah’s next try made it 10-6 but 10 minutes before half-time, with the Roos attacking Abermain’s line, the ball jolted free straight into the arms of Justin Wieczorek who ran 75 metres to score under the posts and give the Hawks a 12-10 lead at the break.

The second half was very tough, with Karuah gaining a 14-12 lead but the Hawks hit back with another try to Benson and a penalty goal to make the final score 18-14.

In a mighty team effort, the Hotel Denman man-of-the-match went to James Hickey (three points), Kel Cunningham (two) and Hayden Gillon (one).

No games will be played on Anzac weekend, and the Hawks are on the road again on Saturday, May 2 at Fingal Bay, 3pm kick-off.