It's just past the halfway point of the 2021 season, and the Crookwell Green Devils have already made a grand final.
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Except this time, it has nothing to do with rugby league.
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Crookwell's premier league club is a finalist in the Cobrapparel Australia's Best Beanie competition, but they face stiff competition from the Wagga Wagga Public School.
The contest, now in its second year, has been run through both Instagram and Facebook, where votes are counted by way of likes. The winner of this year's contest will receive $4,000 in prize money.
Though WWPC comes in with the weight of a much larger community and promotions through its local media, the Green Devils accumulated a record 4,000 votes in the preliminary final to topple on-field rivals, the Harden Hawks.
"Especially because we play Harden in actual football, there was a bit of pride on the line in that one," Crookwell She Devils captain, Annie Croker, said.
"Up against Wagga, we're already off to a rough start. They've got a population of 60-odd thousand and we have 3,000.
"There's a bit of pride in it, especially with it being the centenary year for the club."
In total, the Green Devils have 8,638 votes to Wagga's 9,708 through all the rounds leading in to the grand final. It is the second year Crookwell has made the finals, after bowing out in the 2020 semis.
The club's campaign has picked up a phenomenal groundswell of support, which has even reached the ears of Hockeyroos captain and Crookwell native, Emily Chalker.
"[I'm] currently preparing for the Tokyo Olympics next month," Chalker said in a video posted to the Green Devils' Facebook page.
"Just a quick message to please ask that you all get on and vote for the Crookwell Green Devils in the beanie competition. They can win $4,000, and that's huge for a small club like them."
Brisbane Roar FC's Scott Neville added his voice to the cause in a similar video.
"I thought I'd just jump on board here and give a bit of support to the Crookwell Green Devils beanie competition," Neville said.
"If you could all jump on board and vote for them, that'd be massive. For such a small town like Crookwell to get $4,000 would be huge, and hopefully we can cheer them home. Yew!"
While the prize money would we a welcome addition to the club's coffers, Croker said the Green Devils intend to donate a portion of it to Shearer's Gift, a charity created by Bigga resident, Sam Picker.
The fund supports organ donors in regional communities who travel to major cities in order to undergo surgery and potentially save a life.
Shearer's Gift supplies donors with support packs which include an Opal transport card, Uber Eats vouchers, maps, snacks, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. These supplies help donors and their carers through the often weeks-long recovery periods, during which time they are required to remain in the city for further medical care.
"We're going to donate some of the money to Shearer's Gift if we win to help them out, because obviously it's a great initiative," Croker said.
Those wanting to vote for the Green Devils in their grand final against WWPS can do so here, by clicking and holding on the like button and then selecting the 'Wow' emoji. Voting ends at 5pm on Sunday, July 4.
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