NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY RUGBY UNION OFFICE BEARERS 2017

Transcription

1 Annual General Meeting 26 th November 2017

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3 NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY RUGBY UNION OFFICE BEARERS 2017 Patron: Laurie Maher Life Members: Lloyd Bullock (Dec d) Bruce Cousens John Hipwell O.A.M. (Dec d) Harry Ivimey O.A.M. (Dec d) Laurie Maher O.A.M. Terry Orman Dexter Porter O.A.M. (Dec d) David Rodgers Bill Rowlands O.A.M. (Dec d) Jon White President: Vice President: Barry Ruddy Luke Stephen Directors: Bruce Fergusson Amanda Ferguson Larry Thomson Peter Veenstra Greg Whiteley Executive Officer: Terry Woodward/ Stephen O'Brien Postal Address: Locked Bag 1222 Paddington NSW 2021 Telephone No: (02) Councilors: Central Coast Phil Friend Central North Tony Byrnes Central West Frank Newman Far North Coast Joseph Allen Illawarra Peter Woods Mid North Coast Mark Mackay New England David Clifton Newcastle Hunter Bill Clifton Western Plains Peter Holcombe Country Eagles Andrew Blades Country Juniors John Hamilton Country Referees Des George Country Women Pam Thomson Players Representative Matt Waterford Delegate to NSWRU: Barry Ruddy NSWRU Voting Barry Ruddy Larry Thomson Members: Peter Veenstra Amanda Ferguson Greg Whiteley Honorary Solicitor: Auditor: Chris Zucker Edward Angyalosy CA CPA

4 PRESIDENT S REPORT Another year and another season passes with NSW Country Rugby maintaining our strong position in the NSW Country sporting landscape. It doesn t happen by accident, a lot of hard work from a lot of people out in the zones sees us have around 17,000 players involved in Rugby. The army of volunteers that make this happen is outstanding and their efforts are truly our major asset. Newcastle Hunter returned to the winners circle in our flagship event, the NSW Country Championships held in Port Macquarie. In the Colts Central Coast had an amazing championships taking out their maiden title and in the inaugural women s 7 s, Central West was victorious. Mid North Coast zone and the Port Macquarie club held a magnificent event, and to see Mid North Coast win their first ever Country Championships trophy was very special. Next year we are in Warren as we finalise the current sharing of the Championships in every zone. Their continues to be a very broad level of commitment and excitement to the Country Championships and as a board we are always looking to grow this very important piece of the NSW Country Rugby landscape. On the field the Cockatoos came very close to winning their three key games, only just going down to Queensland Country in the dying seconds of our game in Newcastle. Great wins over NSW Subbies and Brumbies Provincial preceded this game, and the style of Rugby being played was certainly of a very high standard. The Colts this year we looked to align with the Cockatoos where we could and to see the sharing of the culture from the Cockatoos to the Colts was very satisfying. A new generation of Rugby ambassadors and leaders is coming through the ranks to keep our game and traditions alive. The Corellas had a very positive year of development, whilst results did not go their way throughout the Southern States Championships and the National championships, The Corellas still managed to claw their way into the Plate final. The Corellas narrowly lost the Plate Final but were delighted to hear when announced that Katrina Barker had been selected into the Wallaroos squad. Also congratulations to Paul Verrell (Coach) and Amanda Ferguson (Manager) on their Wallaroo appointments. I am also pleased that this year we continued to grow our connection with the NSW Country Eagles. Terry Woodward took on a role as Match Day Manager for the NRC which helped continue to lift the professionalism in presenting these games and it was great to see George Connaughton contributing his expertise as well. The NRC is a great style of fast, physical and open Rugby was played and it s a delight to watch. To my Board, thank you very much for your time, dedication and wise counsel. Getting across the nuances of what comes at us from NSWRU and ARU, together with keeping it all ticking over is no mean feat and we are very fortunate to have such skilled representatives. To Peter Veenstra who is standing down from the Board, a big

5 thank you for your contribution and support. I look forward to seeing PV at Rugby games in 2018 where we can actually watch a game! Finally, to Stephen O Brien our Executive Officer. Taking over from Terry Woodward was always going to be a tough ask, but Stephen has come to grips with the demands of the role and has ensured all the administration tasks runs smoothly. Appreciate all your efforts Stephen. Please enjoy the upcoming festive season with your loved ones, be safe and I look forward to kicking off a big 2018 and keeping NSW Country Rugby at the forefront of Rugby in NSW. Barry Ruddy President NSWCRU EXECUTIVE OFFICER S REPORT 2017 has certainly had some ups and downs but ultimately another solid year for NSW Country Rugby Union. I was officially handed over the reins following the Country Championships in Port Macquarie after a very detailed and thorough handover from Terry Woodward. I have had to continually lean on Terry for advice and guidance throughout the year and I know I will have to continue to do so moving forward as his knowledge is unsurpassed. Terry has continued to assist the union in so many ways and I want to personally thank Terry for all his continued hard work and dedication. I know Terry will not be lost entirely to Country Rugby as his passion for Country Rugby runs very deep. Taking over in April led to quick learning curve and the NSW Country Rugby Union board need to be commended on their energy, effort and enthusiasm as the guardians of Country Rugby. Barry Ruddy has lead from the front making tough decisions as required but also listening to new ideas and innovations that have been proposed at different times throughout the season. His diplomatic approach has lead me to be able to drive some initiatives and enabled the Board to execute their portfolios. Thank you to all the board for their continued passion and energy for Country Rugby. It would be really difficult doing this role without a functional and hardworking board and I am very grateful that Country Rugby is fortunate to have terrific Rugby people driving decisions for the continual growth and development of our game. A very large thank you to the zones committees and in particular the zone administrators that have made this transition very seamless and have been a constant support. We will always be looking to improve all aspects around our relationships and governance of our zones moving forward. This was typified by attending the zone grand finals series which were an outstanding showcase of Rugby not only for the players but for anyone that attended on the day. Congratulations on another strong season around all the zones. Thank you to Andrew Hore, Tim Rapp, Chris Malone & Daryl Gibson for attending the zone grand finals that I couldn t attend. They all spoke very highly o the grand finals series that all the zones ran as well.

6 The below report consists of updates and initiatives that the board and executive officer have been involved with which falls under all the different arms of Country Rugby. NSW Country Seniors NSW Country Juniors NSW Country Women s NSW Country Eagles NSW Country Referees Country Development Officers looking after territories in regional NSW Country Juniors finances Country Juniors with the assistance from NSW Rugby and Mark Green in particular were able to transform into very positive and healthy accounts for 2017 moving forward. NSW Rugby assisted Country Juniors finance using initiatives such as Portable credit card for remote payments setting up XERO accounting software used to invoice and follow up payment led to a significant reduction in outstanding debt Far North Coast constitutional reform: In conjunction with NSWRU, Office of Sport and a Sports Consultant it was brought to the unions attention that the Far North Coast Rugby Union requested assistance in updating and modernizing their constitution. The constitution was antiquated and had led to a dysfunctional Committee/Union. At their AGM, an updated constitution was adopted in full. This would not have occurred without the governance funding received from Office of Sport earlier this year and the efforts Mark Green and FNC President Joe Allen. Active Kids voucher ($100 government sport registration voucher) ARU, NSWRU, NSWCRU and Office of Sport Reps have had follow-up meetings in relation to the acceptance of the $100 Active Kids Rebate voucher. The timeline has been pushed back by the Office of Sport by one month to 31/1/18. Fortunately RugbyLink (Interact) is one of only three IT suppliers state-wide that the Office of Sport are working with in an effort to redeem the voucher online. This may give us an advantage over some other sports. A communication has been sent to clubs and Development staff outlining some basic information and as more information becomes available we will make a formal announcement via our Media team. Any further delays to the start date will jeopardize rugby s ability to maximise use of the voucher as junior registrations commence late January/February. Partners, Sponsorship & Funding Union is actively seeking sponsorship at all levels, especially a major sponsor. Initiative was developed selling sleeve sponsors for the Cockatoos program which was well received with 8 jerseys being sold off to sponsors Classic Sportswear contract negotiations are still ongoing. The union expects to have an increase which will benefit the Representative programs as well as NSW Country Juniors that receive a grant from the union to go towards their large representative kit order.

7 Rugby Club foundation meeting and networking to identify potential revenue opportunities for Country Rugby. Rugby Club foundation already provides the union with a grant to offset costs. The Rugby Club has been transformed into a foundation which will mean a formal application in the form of a grant will now be the only way to obtain money from the foundation. Following their AGM EO will meet again with foundation members (who we have a wonderful relationship with) to gain further traction. International Sports Tours are continuing to grow their portfolio by offering more Women s touring opportunities. IST will continue to provide sponsorship in Beiersdorf will also continue their support of the union in NSWRU in conjunction with all the affiliates have established a Country Rugby Coterie which will provide further and much needed financial assistance to the union and its zones and clubs. Strategic Pathway meeting Full day workshop around Pathways for all of NSW Rugby across all age groups and genders. EO represented NSW Country Rugby. This will be followed by another meeting to finalise the alignment of all representative pathways for 2018 and beyond. NSW Country Eagles Commencement of the NRC competition began in September 3 games hosted by NSW Country Rugby zones, clubs and communities. A huge amount of effort from all involved to provide a meaningful connection to a professional arm of NSW Country Rugby. Games were hosted by Orange Emus, New England Rugby Union and the Central North. The NSW Country Eagles are leaders in the community connection space and driven by the players, in particular Paddy Ryan and General Manager Andrew Blades The union had several meetings with NSW Country Eagles meeting with captain Paddy Ryan and directors Peter Tomkin & Ric Hutchinson developing alignment with NSW Country Rugby, discussing community activation for coaches and players to implement (DO s rolled out strategy Garry Walsh and Jarrod Simpson). Off the back of these efforts from the Eagles to engage with the community, Paddy Ryan & Indigenous emerging talent Cody Walker are on a Roadshow spreading the good word of Rugby in remote regional towns in the Western Plains region. Content Day content for junior clubs to promote Country Junior Clubs have been invited to patriciate in Content Day on 24 January This will provide these Country clubs with club specific flyers and promotional material featuring one of their players and a Waratah which can be used throughout the year as part of recruitment/retention and sales initiatives for both NSWRU and each club. This was successfully rolled out in 2017 with Sydney Junior Clubs. Safety / Injury prevention Prep to Perform a new warm-up/training regime developed by Dr Sharron Flahive (Waratahs Dr) and Aaron Scully (Waratahs S&C) will be rolled out shortly for players U14 (and up). The research suggests that by undertaking the warm-up routine

8 it reduces the risk of injury significantly. This will be used as part of the NSWRU s safety messaging to parents. Video Streaming player visits to country schools In conjunction with the team a new player appearance protocol and training program is being implemented. The training has included why appearances are important and how to conduct a community session. We also piloted our fist School Skype visit with Cam Clarke and Matt Sandell visiting Nyngan Public School. The students had the opportunity to ask the players questions and the session lasted 20 minutes. The class used their Smart Screens which have been rolled out in all schools statewide whilst a simple camera/microphone/laptop was used at NSWRU offices. We will look to refine this over the coming weeks and will roll out more widely to regional areas in Another initiative to bring the Waratahs players out to regional areas. Womens XVs ARU are due to make a decision by the end of November in relation to the viability of a Super Rugby Women s XVs competition to be run in March The competition would consist of a team from each Australian Super Rugby franchise and Perth playing each other once over 5 rounds plus a final. ARU would cover all travel, accommodation, and match day doctor. Whilst the Union would be responsible for apparel, tape and ground hire. NSWRU have submitted that we would support this style of competition as it provides a complete pathway for Women XV players and provides new commercial opportunities and content. Where possible matches would be played as curtain raisers. The alternate is an expanded Nationals in May which is not desirable, with the ARU only providing for one spot for NSW instead of the traditional two Sydney and Country. ARU have outlined that the Super Women s series would be part of the High Performance Department purview. We would need to seek nominations for coaching, and arrange a suitable trial and selection process which is fair for both Sydney and Country participants. As per 2017 NSW have been invited to send a Women s team to the Duco 10s to play matches against QLD. All costs are fully covered by the tournament organisers. This may form part of the NSW Women s XVs team preparation process. Representative Pathway meeting follow-up set for 8/12/17 to examine current set-up and opportunity to develop world class structure. Inclusion of Corellas to play in an NSW only NRC competitions. Corellas will play under the NSW Country Eagles banner. Funding for competition provided by NSWRU and Kerry Chickarovski and some expense to the union. A detailed report (below) was provided by Larry Thomson who (with wife Pam), shows amazing passion for the Country Women s program and provide a wonderful pathway and opportunity for these ladies. Well done Larry & Pam! Country Juniors competitions Successful integration of Youth Girls competitions around the zones. Central West, Illawarra have started and maintained a regular competition for Youth Girls in their

9 respective areas. This provides a great opportunity to plug into the senior women s club in the Illawarra and Central West. This is Rugby s biggest continued growth area and 2018 implementation strategy will be distribution to all zones Charity Partner Pleased to announce that Batyr will be the official charity partner of NSW Country Rugby Union. Initiatives such as the One Sock, One Goal & Batyr ambassador program were rolled out in some of the zones. Central West instigated initiative to nominate a Batyr Ambassador for each club. This individual will be the spokesperson for Batyr and Batyr s mission within the club. Providing a safe environment to discuss mental health concerns and in time will be trained to identify and manage players that may be suffering from mental health issues. Zone and club support Retention surveys were sent to both junior and senior players that did not return to Rugby in There were just over 7000 players that did not return to Rugby in 2017 after being registered in Utilising RugbyLink we have been able to extract the players that have not returned to Rugby in Findings of this survey were distributed to the zones and development officers have the ability to extract individual club RugbyLink registrations were provided in real time fortnightly updates have been provided to all zones. Data looks to identify zones and clubs that require support. An individual club by club breakdown has been provided to each zone to further demonstrate the issues and initiatives that clubs are experiencing and encourage clubs to share and collaborate. Zone Competition administration - for the first time ALL zones will be invited to attend a workshop to better equip and resource the administrators that put countless hours into our game. Workshop was be held over two days in Sydney. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and dates will be sort to continue to do this in 2018 and beyond. DEVELOPMENT REPORT ARU targets As at 20th November I am pleased to report that all ARU Funding targets have now been achieved for the 2017 year. This achievement secures just over $1million in ARU funding for Development (paid across the 2017 year) Graph below shows progress against ARU funding requirements *Dotted lines show the term by term targets - Club XVs is above target by 3.4%, NB: targets are separate from 16 vs 17 comparisons, see registration trackers (next page) - Sanctioned 7s has exceeded targets by 22% - Paid Viva centres & Free Viva have exceeded targets by 1% - Schools 7s has exceeded target by 14% - School XVs has exceeded target by 3% - Game On has exceeded target by 43% *NB: after 17,000 participants in Game On NSW receives additional revenue from each Game On as we receive 100% of the Australian Sports Commission funding ARU will forgo their 30% of the funding

10 NSW CLUB XVs Sanctioned Schools PAID VIVA7s FREE VIVA7s Schools 7s Schools XVs 7s Game On TOTAL ACTUALS TARGETS REQUIRED % 103% 122% 101% 101% 114% 103% 143% 109% Current XV s Registrations as at 20th November Registered players have increased 1.6% above last year with 37,987 in 2017 compared with 37,379. This is a significant achievement considering the current narrative of the game and the $500k reduction in funding from the ARU to community rugby in We have experienced strong growth in the following competitions a) NSW Suburban Rugby & Premiership Rugby has grown by 8% b) NSW Country Juniors has grown by 4% We will see decline in the following competitions a) NSW Country Seniors has declined by 2.2% (although stable in team numbers, down by 2 teams in total) Registration payments were collected online individually this year, which was a change from the 2016 system, where clubs were invoiced by team. In other states when this change was implemented there was a corresponding 7.5% decrease in registered players. Even so it is an area we need to work with Country Rugby to address. b) Sydney Juniors has declined by 3% (although there was 1 more team in 2017 than in 2016) A change in registration systems could account for the discrepancy although there is no direct comparison possible due to the change from a bespoke system in 2016 to the National system in XV s Rugby Registration Highlights for 2017 Junior registered XVs club players (boys & girls) Senior registered XVs club players (men and women) 92% growth Western Plains Juniors 16% growth in Mid North Coast Seniors 56 % growth in New England 9% growth in Central North Seniors 20% growth in far North Coast Juniors 8% growth in Metro Seniors 12% growth in Central West Juniors 7% growth in Far North Coast Seniors 6 % growth in Newcastle Juniors 6% growth in Country Womens 4% growth in Illawarra Juniors 4% growth in Illawarra Seniors Table below shows registrations by zone or competition and the % of registered players they currently have compared to their total registrations of Those highlighted red are below the average of all competitions i.e. they are either slow registering or there may be a decline in regos

11 SENIORS New Central Western Central Central Country Subbies/ Metro Year FNC MNC England North Plains West Newcastle Coast Illawarra Women Prem Women Seniors Seniors overall To Date Average 16 to 17 % of '16 107% 116% 79% 109% 98% 94% 91% 90% 104% 106% 108% 71% 100% 103% Juniors Year FNC MNC New England Central North Western Plains Central West Newcastle Central Coast Illawarra SJRU Juniors Juniors overall To Date Average 16 to 17 % of '16 121% 97% 156% 83% 192% 112% 106% 97% 104% 97% 116% 100% Thank you all once again for your tremendous energy, effort and enthusiasm in growing and developing Country Rugby in your zones and clubs. Stephen O'Brien Executive Officer NSWCRU This year has been another successful year for country juniors. For the first time, we gained sponsorship from local councils to hold our championships at Port Stephens who hosted under 17 s and 18 s boys and under 17 s girls, and Shoalhaven who hosted the under 12 s, 13 s and 14 s zone championships. Our third championships were held in Lennox Head who hosted under 15 s and 16 s, All three events ran very smoothly and I would like to thank the above zones and host clubs for the work they put into making these championship the success that they were. For the first time this year we held an under 17 s girls championship. It was run as a tens competition with the view of picking a side to play 15 s. We had five zones enter teams and it was a very enjoyable experience for all teams. The girls that played in this event have created history as the first girls to compete at a country junior carnival. Good on them. The girl s under 17 s country team went on to play three games against Sydney, ACT and CHS of which they won all games. A great effort and shows the potential these girls have in rugby. From the rest of the country championship events, representative games were selected for the under 14 s to 18 s age groups. Games were played against CHS, ACT and Sydney with mixed results. Playing for country is not about winning it s about developing the players as individuals, to learn the value of team work, respect for their team mates and the opposition, coaches and match officials. If we achieve this then the representative program has been successful. The under 16 s boys toured New Zealand prior to playing in the NSW Championships, against Schools and a Sydney clubs side. At the NSW Championships two NSW teams were then selected to go to Queensland and play in the under 16 s Australian Championships. Congratulations to the boys that made these teams.

12 The under 15 s team played in the junior Gold competition as the Country Eagles. They played very well winning against SA, a draw against ACT and a couple of narrow losses to the Sydney teams. The under 18 s team played against Sydney and ACT from which a NSW under 18 s club side was selected which played against Victorian Schools. Next year approval has been given for a NSW Clubs side to play in Division 2 of the Australian Schools competition in the July school holidays. This will give an opportunity for country boys who have left school and either gone to TAFE, University or not selected in their respective schools sides to play at the highest representative level for the under 18s. To facilitate this, a decision was made to combine the 17 and 18 s age groups for the Country championships, from which a representative team will be picked to play Sydney, ACT and GPS, and from which the NSW representative side will be picked. At this stage, the game has been pencilled in to be played on the Monday of the June long weekend. I see this as an exciting opportunity for this age group and it gives the players a clear pathway and opportunity to higher representative levels that didn t previously exist. At the end of the season Chris Coleman who is in charge of coach and player development prepared a paper about the current skill levels of our representative players. While our players don t lack any commitment they suffer at the next level due to a poor basic skills. Two courses of actions have been implemented for the 2018 season. The first is to hold a representative coaches development workshop in February. The second is to have a development tour for current under 14 and 15 s players throughout country zones to help them develop the necessary skills to work on, in order to reach the next level in rugby. Both NSW Rugby and Rugby Australia have given their support to participate in this development strategy. We would not be in such a good financial position without the support of sponsors. This year we have had new sponsors come on board in the form of KRH Mining, Charles Sturt University, Shoalhaven and Port Stephens councils, My Sports Tape and Bounce back Physiotherapy. We were lucky enough to have existing sponsorship and support from Classic Sportswear and NSW Rugby. Their support helps to enable young players throughout the state to participate in representative rugby. For 2018 we have already received a significant sponsorship from NSW Country Eagles and Elders which will allow us to fund coach the coach clinics in all nine zones and assist with the proposed Country representative coach and player development days. This is a great opportunity to help the game develop at the grass roots level. I would like to thank Rick Hutchinson and Pete Tonkin from the Eagles for their continued and ongoing support of the junior game. This year we have had great assistance from Mark Green from NSW Rugby in helping with our invoicing which has taken away a huge work load from the treasurer. The timeliness has helped managers keep on top of player debts. While they still exist they are not as bad as they have been in the last few years. I would like to thank all the selectors, coaches, managers and team trainers who have worked with our representative teams this year. Your commitment and dedication is of great value to the young men and women that you have worked throughout Finally as this is my last report, I would like to thank the members of the Country Junior s board over the last four years who have made my time as president an easy and pleasurable task. There is one person in particular I want to acknowledge and that is Mick Sutherland. Four years ago we were both new to our positions and we have muddled our way through the years to the position where I feel country junior rugby

13 is in a reasonable state. Mick does a huge amount of work for our organisation, he has the attention to detail which I don t. He was always ready to discuss issues and I really enjoyed our conversations about the game. Mick made a commitment to see country junior rugby grow and prosper. Over the years we have not been frightened to try new things. Some of them worked, some of them didn t. Mick was always prepared to give it a go. If it didn t work he would say so and if it did, he was happy to let it happen and not take the credit for the success. Mick has been appointed to a new job with the NSW Port Authority and feels he no longer has the time to commit to the position of secretary so he isn t seeking the position for next year. The Port Authorities gain is our loss. Over the last four years our board has introduced sevens competitions, participated in regional championships and made CHS and ACT annual fixtures. The introduction of girl s participation has been a great success for our zones and the country championships. Next year, we propose to expand this participation and have an under 15 girl s competition. We have also worked closely with Sydney juniors to help see the game prosper at the junior ranks. Thanks to Ben Gregory, Tony Fisher and Kerry Brady for listening. There are many things I think still need to change throughout the game and our organisation, but that s for another committee. The game and organisation needs to be brave and take risks. It needs to embrace change, be strategic in its direction and when people are negative about our game, listen and be proactive, not reactive. Hopefully, people think we have left the game in a better position than it was 4 years ago. All the best to the new committee and have continued success in the coming years. Over and Out. John Hamilton President NSWCJRU CRURA were again represented at the Darwin 7 s, the National Women s 7s, and Women s and Schools National Championships as well as the Samoan 7 s. We appointed to the NSW State Championships and Country Junior s Championships, and, to finish the season, we again had referees and a coach at the Central Coast 7s. Our referees have been invited by the ARU to the Darwin 7 s in January This reinforced the sound working relationship and recognition CRURA has established with the ARU, and NSW Juniors has been reflected in us working closely in 2017 with the ARU High Performance Manager and Talent Identification Manager. Our focus in 2017continued with junior referee development. We saw our younger referees at NSW CRURA Junior carnivals and the NSW State Championships, which were appointed on an expression of interest basis. The Armidale School Primary Schools carnival continued to be our major referee development tool with young referees from Country, Sydney and Qld officiating, supported by CRURA coaches.

14 The Country Representative Program this year saw CRURA referees at two Cockatoos and Colts matches. CRURA have been represented on the newly formed Referees Association s President s group instigated by the ARU involving all States and Country NSW and Qld Country Referees Associations. This forum enables dialogue between the associations and we have working parties looking at frameworks for exchanges and referee remuneration to try and get some consistency amongst us. Our sponsor Orica Mining Services has not renewed for Protective Fencing remains a loyal sponsor and Colface has come on board through the NRURA. An additional sponsorship proposal is currently under discussion. We have a deal with Paladin Clothing to supply our gear with an incentive clause for future introductions. Our Bank account is sound due to some tight budget measures in 2017 with us reporting a small surplus for the year. As in 2017, our cash situation early in the 2018 season will be limited until our grant monies become available from Country Juniors, Country and NSW. Our Constitution has been updated to reflect the changes in legislation. I would take this opportunity to acknowledge the support of Terry Woodward from NSW Country and his replacement in Stephen O Brien. Des George President CRURA It has been another busy year in NSW Country Women s rugby and it gives me great pleasure to present this NSW Country Women s Rugby Report for This year the representative team 1 ST XV played seven (7) matches, with four of these matches being played in the ARU National Championships on the Gold Coast. The rugby scene for women is undergoing much change at present where a huge emphasis is being given to 7 s rugby. The year began for Country at the NSW Country Rugby Championships which were held in Forster on the 25 th March. Hunter won the Championships and were deserved Champions for this year. However the competition from all teams was intense and it was the closest fought Championships in many years. These Championships were one of the best for many years with an excellent sprinkling of players from all across NSW Country. A huge thank you must go to the Forster Rugby Club for their wonderful organisation and support for this event. The selected representative team then played games during April and May. In the lead up to the Nationals, the team travelled to the Southern States Championships in

15 Wagga Wagga on the 8 th April, and the team had a win and a loss. They were able to gain a very good victory over Victoria, but lost to the ACT. The team then met a very strong Sydney team at Warringah Pittwater Oval on the 23 rd April and put in a very good effort despite losing the match. The team had very mixed results at the ARU Nationals. The team had three losses and a win. So overall the results did not go their way but their performances still allowed the team to reach the ARU Plate Final on the final day, but they were defeated in extra time by a very competitive Aust. Services team. Halfback Katrina Barker was selected in the Wallaroos training squad after these National Women s Championships, and followed this up with selection in the Wallaroos team that toured New Zealand and then competed at the Women s Rugby World Cup in Ireland. It should also be noted that NSW Country stalwarts, Paul Verrell (Coach) and Amanda Ferguson (Manager), are vital cogs in the Wallaroo team. Many thanks go to coaches Michael Burgess (Head Coach) and Murray Hooper (Asst. Coach) for their efforts with this team. They did a wonderful job in the development of this team over the year. Thanks also to Pam Thomson and Tammy Clay, who did a wonderful job as Team Managers. 7 s rugby also became a potent force in women s rugby in recent years. Its importance has been increasing but this year it definitely made its mark. NSW competes at the ARU Nationals 7 s as a state team, and several NSW Country players were selected in the NSW teams that competed at these Nationals. Many thanks to all the delegates from each of the Zones - your commitment is not easy as you are all so busy trying to ensure women s rugby continues in your own area as well as at the representative level. Many thanks to the Board of the NSW Country Rugby Union for your moral and financial support. I would like to thank the outgoing Executive Officer, Terry Woodward, for his great support of women s rugby and for the help and advice during the year. I am certain the incoming Executive Officer, Steve O Brien, will be just as strong in his support of women s country rugby. Thanks also to the NSW Country sponsors - your support is gratefully accepted. It has been a good year, and already planning has commenced for Larry Thomson Chairperson NSWCWRU 2017 for the Country Eagles finished in heartbreak, a penalty kick after the bell to win a match we weren t even involved in cost us our playoff spot

16 A shaky start to the season where we were comfortably beaten by the Rams (the first time we had lost to another NSW team in NRC history) & the Flying Fijians in Sikatoga had us back to the drawing board looking for solutions. We gained momentum after a last gasp victory over Canberra in our first home game in Armidale and set sail for the finals having only a 2-point loss and a draw amongst the 4 wins in our last 6 matches. We had destiny in our own hands going into the last round v Brisbane but a 38-all draw left the door ajar for Perth, and their 83 rd minute win over Qld Country for a second consecutive season broke the Eagles hearts. To finish 5th by for and against differential knowing we lost less games than the two teams above us was frustrating but something we hold ourselves accountable for as we know at times we could have performed better. There were however many things to look back on and celebrate from the 2017 season. Through the support of our partners Elders, Nufarm, UNE, NSW Farmers, Wests Entertainment Group and Canterbury we were able to take all our home games in 2017 to regional areas of NSW. The team built strong bonds and new friendships and very much enjoyed their trips to our games in the bush where we remained undefeated thru the season. Our Games in Armidale, Goulburn, Tamworth and Orange were a chance for our team to visit these areas and promote Rugby both on and off the field. The players enjoyed being able to connect with the local juniors in these areas and hopefully inspire some players of the future. These games and the local junior coaching sessions around them would not have been possible without the support of the NSWRU development officers Gary Walsh and Jarrod Simpson who organised junior teams from all over their regions to play in carnivals around each game. These events were also enhanced through the support of local Rugby clubs in particular Goulburn Rugby Club and Orange Emus. The games themselves were enhanced by the Elders Taste of the Country area at each venue which created a great atmosphere at each game with music, food and after match celebrations. It was great to see the kids at the ground in each game wearing the Orange Elders Country Eagles T-Shirts kindly supplied by Elders as these added so much colour to the event and enabled the juniors to get these signed at the end of each game. Individual accolades came thru with numerous players being called into various squads including Jake Gordon & Kyle Godwin being called into a Wallaby training week leading into the Barbarians game. Sam Ward and Andrew Kellaway into the Barbarians themselves, The Gibbon brothers (Matt & Alex) along with Pat McCutcheon into the Classic Wallabies and Henry Clunies-Ross the Australian 7s squad. Tayler Adams topped off a great season to win the Players Player award whilst Paddy Ryan won the Golden Eagle for best club man. Special mention must be made to team Captain Paddy Ryan who not only led from the front but provided inspirational and educated direction to the young group and over and above initiated and led by example in off-field programs promoting rugby in the Country.

17 On top of the Coaching clinics around each of our home games the Eagles players and staff attended or ran coaching clinics and carnivals in Camden, Goulburn, Walcha, Armidale, Moree, Walgett and Tamworth. The Coaching & Support Staff were knowledgeable, efficient, pro-active and supportive and made the running of the team a pleasure and always fun to be around. The Eagles are looking to support the growth of Rugby in Country NSW through the launch of a foundation to financially underpin this development. To launch this NSW Country Eagles made an initial donation of $30,000 to NSW Country Juniors to kick start this initiative. This would not have been possible without the support of our partners, in particular our major partner Elders who continue to show their commitment to rural and regional communities. On behalf of the Eagles team I would like to thank our Directors Peter Tonkin and Ric Hutchinson who s work in the background has helped the Eagles to continue to grow and thrive as one of the most successful teams in the 4 year history of the NRC. Andrew Blades General Manager Central Coast Rugby Union had a most pleasing year in The club competition proved competitive, and the makeup of teams in the Final Series was not known until the final round. All ten clubs were managed well, and there was an excellent camaraderie between these clubs. The Central Coast Zone competed in the NSW Country Championship earlier in the year. Seniors Coach Stew Jenkins and his team put in a great effort, but the results did not go our way. Congratulations also to Nick Meyer and the Colts team who won the Colts Championship this year in what was a wonderful performance by a great group of players. Many thanks to Kate Thomson for her efforts as the CCRU Administration Officer, and the CCRU Registrar, this year. There would be no better administrator in Country rugby. Thanks also to David Bowler who did a good job once again this year as Judiciary Chairman in what is a thankless role. Thank you to all the clubs for their positive relationship with the CCRU this year. It is a difficult time in club land, with many associated issues in just trying to keep teams on the paddock. The financial concerns, player registrations, player welfare, insurance, gaining sponsors, etc there are so many matters that are a continual strain on what is usually a small group of volunteers at each club. Thanks also to the Zone Affiliates for their efforts to the Juniors, Schools and to the Referees Association whose task is always thankless. They each have a difficult role but have progressed through the season with great success. The CCRU Board

18 members toiled tirelessly as volunteers this year and met all challenges very well, and their efforts are greatly appreciated. There are a huge number of volunteers involved in Central Coast rugby, and their efforts, whether for clubs, affiliates or at zone level, can never be underestimated. Congratulations to those players and officials who won major awards at our annual Presentation Evening at the Wallarah Bay Recreation Club. It was a very pleasant evening where the success of clubs and of individuals was recognised. The major Award Winners for 2017 are listed below : Club Person of the Year Michael MIDDLETON (Ourimbah) Coaches of the Year Chester SCOTT / Murray COX / Craig McWILLIAM (Terrigal) Terry Woodward Award for Service Owen CLARK Club of the Year OURIMBAH RUGBY CLUB Club Championship TERRIGAL RUGBY CLUB Highest point scorer Adam DANCKERT (Terrigal) Syd Noble PLAYER OF THE YEAR Sekope MAEA (Terrigal) NSW Rugby Referee of the Year Chris WELLINGTON REPRESENTATIVE AWARDS : SENIORS Player of the Year Encouragement Award Commitment Award UNDER 19 s Best and Fairest Encouragement Award Commitment Award PREMIER 1 CLUB PLAYER PREMIER 2 CLUB PLAYER PRESIDENT S CUP CLUB PLAYER UNDER 19 CLUB PLAYER Ethan McINNES (Terrigal) Josefa BIU (Ourimbah) Kevin McNAMARA (Warnervale) Vaughan KERNAN (Terrigal) Harrison BOWCOCK (Avoca Beach) Lachlan PERUCH (Kariong) Wiremu PIRINI (The Lakes) Wes BULL (Gosford) Danny COOMBES (Hornsby) Lachlan MEACHAM (Woy Woy) The CCRU Premiers in each grade were as follows: Premier 1 Terrigal Premier 2 Terrigal President s Cup Ourimbah Under 19 s Avoca Beach Larry Thomson CCRU President Central North Rugby Union

19 The season ended well for Central North with a Grand Final of epic proportions four great games of rugby with the 1 st XV being one of the best for many years. The splendour and colour brought with the Walcha team was an eye opener. A very close result with undefeated minor premiers Pirates winning by the narrowest of margins. That day made the hard work throughout the year all the more worthwhile. It wasn t all just about the grand final of course and it has been an interesting season right across the board. The Zone striving to maintain a worthy and viable competition into the future has had many discussions about this not only in our Zone but also that of our neighbours. Discussions about a combined competition with New England have been at best slow as we continue to outline and explore the benefits or otherwise of an enlarged competition. Hopefully we are entering a new era of cooperative planning and decision making with both the Central North Rugby Referees Association and the Central North Junior Rugby Union as we strive to plan the best pathways for our younger players to transition to colts and senior rugby and, for some, beyond. A new look referees association is developing a credible grading and coaching system that will lift the standard of all Zone referees. A number of new faces have been welcomed to the ranks and it is hoped this trend will continue. The Zone has concerns about the current senior Country Championships format which the view of most is outdated and an irrelevant format and is not drawing the best to represent the Zone. Simply put, players are not stepping up to play Zone level rugby for a host of reasons. The Zone struggled at the 2017 Country Championships with its men s sides, our women s 7 s side, on the other hand, performed incredibly well given it is our first year of women s rugby. Our women s XV also acquitted themselves well at the Country Championships held at Foster Tuncurry. NSW Country to its credit is undertaking a review of how to reinvigorate the Country brand and we look forward to the outcome. Meanwhile, the CNRU AGM will again make a decision on the competition format for 2018/19 and whilst I and many others believe the current two tier arrangement works well there are some Clubs who would like a return to the two full rounds and four team finals format. Clubs who have benefitted from the current arrangement may think otherwise. Challenges: Maintaining interest in local rugby Diminishing number of Clubs featuring Colts teams Providing attractive and sustainable pathways for all age groups Number of reserve grade forfeits Community engagement Representative priorities.

20 If all the bits and pieces of rugby across the Zone work together we can overcome these challenges through: Governance and management structures in place to meet these and other challenges head on Ensuring that numbers can grow for XV teams while at the same time fostering the rising interest in women s rugby, sevens and other alternative forms of the game that can attract more people to the sport Flexibility and structures in place to adapt to the changes in society and our communities and what young people want from sport and rugby in particular. My personal thoughts: Governance we re all in this together Self-determination only we can fix it Forms of rugby a reality check is required Pathways and representative program do what is best for our Zone. Tony Byrnes CNRU President The season just gone can hopefully be seen as a stepping stone for our game to grow over the coming seasons, particularly the next two seasons, with the introduction of the three tier system. Central West is looked up to by other country zones as a role model. Central West continues as the 2 nd largest zone in terms of player numbers in Country Rugby. Our season started off with the Central West Education day at Charles Sturt University, Orange, which was reasonably well attended. The feedback from the attendees was very positive. One of the highlights of our season was no wet weather cancellations, compared to the wet year we had in A notable event during the season was changing the Colts age from U/19 to U/20 mid-season, hopefully this flexibility led to less forfeits in the Colts competition and encouraged more Colts players to play in our competition. Congratulations to Forbes Rugby Club on winning the premiership in our premier division, The Blowes Clothing Cup, also to Narromine on winning the GrainCorp North division and to Blayney on winning the GrainCorp South Division. Bathurst Bulldogs were Club Champions. Our Women s competitions are slowly building momentum. This year saw Bathurst win the northern division and West Wyalong win the southern division. Our Women s representative teams had a particularly successful season. There is more detail about their achievements in the Womens report. I must thank all the clubs who hosted finals series games on behalf of CWRU. The quality of the playing surfaces, the hospitality and the catering etc. was of an exceptional standard throughout the zone.

21 Our zone continues to grow. We do have a few clubs in recess and hoping to see them back in the not too distant future. This year we welcomed Harden Rugby Club into our zone. The Central West representative teams continue to fly the flag at the NSW Country Championships with the Blue Bulls toughing it out in the top tier against heavy weights Newcastle/Hunter and Illawarra. Our Colts and U/18s also did themselves proud, but our Women s teams were the ones to shine this season with our 15s playing well and our 7s winning the NSW Country Championships, a truly remarkable effort to everyone. A big thank you to all the coaching staff and managers. It is with sadness that we lost the manager of the Blue Bulls, Paul Smith from Cowra, who passed away very suddenly during the year. A great man and he will be sorely missed. To the Referees Association I cannot thank you enough, we simply would not have a game if we don t have referees. The feedback from the clubs is that the quality of refereeing is always improving. We look forward to working together to find more referees. The Referees Association would like us to thank their sponsors Neweys Drive Thru Dry Cleaners, CropCare, Pacific Seeds and Rickards Whiteley Lawyers. As always our thanks go to the CWRU Judiciary. Thankfully the judiciary had a relatively quiet year which is a reflection on the hard work put in by our clubs on discipline. Our long term Judiciary chairman Peter Larson from Cowra is standing down after many many years in the job. We thank you Peter for your dedication and professionalism. We also welcome Ralph Toyer from Bathurst to the judiciary and we hope you continue. The financial position of Central West Rugby is solid. The last two years we have operated with small losses mainly due to some extraordinary expenses such as Country Championships being held in Port Macquarie, but we are still in a sound financial position with a strong balance sheet. We need our sponsors so we can remain in a sound financial position. We thank our major sponsors Blowes Clothing and GrainCorp as well as out other sponsors Envirowest Consulting and D Aquinos Liquor. We hope that our sponsors find good value in their sponsorships and we encourage everyone associated with CWRU to support our sponsors. We also encourage everyone in CWRU to help us find more sponsorship dollars, as in all sports, our revenue streams are under pressure and our costs keep going up. It is apparent to the board that Grassroots Rugby in Australia has to stand on its own two feet. I have to bid some farewells. Firstly I want to pass on our condolences to the family of Ken Laird, from Bathurst. Ken passed away earlier this year and was a life member and former president of CWRU and a massive contributor to Central West Rugby in so many ways. Bob Sullivan is not seeking reappointment as Vice President. Thank you Bob for your 13 or so years on the board. Thank you for your enthusiasm, professionalism, passion and good humour. I feel Bob will miss his involvement on the board as he just loves the small town teams, and has been a wonderful ambassador for them.

22 I am not seeking reelection as president due to ill health, but we ll see what the future brings. I must thank all members of the board, in particular my two vice presidents Peter Hammond and Bob Sullivan, and the wider CWRU community for shouldering additional work load over the last few months. I wish the incoming board all the best. Finally, my last duty as president, is done with mixed emotion. We farewell Peter Veenstra our retiring CEO. My mixed emotions are that I feel honoured to be the president at this time and on behalf of all the former CWRU presidents over the last 31 years to thank Peter for his dedication and at the same time feel disappointed to see him leaving. Mere words cannot describe the contribution PV has made to our zone, to country rugby, NSW rugby and the ARU. I know PV will miss the day to day involvement of CWRU but am sure he will only be a phone call away. On behalf of everyone involved in CWRU over the last 31 years I wish PV and his very patient and understanding wife, Lydia, a long, safe and healthy retirement. Peter leaves the CWRU zone sitting on a rock solid foundation ready for the next CEO. Frank Newman President CWRU 2017 has been one of our more effective years in recent times. Good results at the country champs ( all the more so given the men s team very nearly didn t go at all ), the excellent growth in junior numbers, the relatively smooth running of the senior competition and the success of the finals series made this season one of the better ones from a competition management point of view. Congratulations must go to Junior Rugby Director Andrew Lawson and his sub-committee for spending countless hours organising and orchestrating not just the highly congested regular season, but very successful supplementary junior carnival events as well. Acknowledgement must also go to Wollongbar Alstonville Rugby Club for taking out their fourth consecutive first grade premiership. Many had written them off prior to the finals, but they rose to the challenge and prevailed against a very spirited Ballina team. Far North Coast Rugby Union welcomed the Casuarina Beach Barbarians into the competition for the first time in senior rugby, and the welcome return of the Gentlemen of Murwillumbah back from the brink of extinction to compete in the President s Cup again after folding the previous season. From a Governance perspective, this year has also been more positive. New board members committed to action and reform have made for much more deliberate and cohesive administration. Unfortunately, not all the members responsible for driving the change in attitude lasted the whole season, but their contribution has not been forgotten. Commitment to returning the Zone to a firmer financial footing, the increase in player numbers and a somewhat disguised blessing in the total destruction of the FNCRU Office in a flood leading to a sizable reduction in rent costs has seen the budget looking healthier than it has for half a dozen years.

23 This report would be remiss if it did not also mention the highlight of the year: The Barbarians Vs Classic Wallabies match. This was the best thing to happen to rugby on the North Coast for years. Stephen Hoiles, the Classic Wallabies manager deserves a medal for the time and effort he put in, not only into the match, but the promotion of the game and the junior clinics attended by the Classic players. Our DO Tom Davidson was also very active, as he has been all year, and the Barbarian players were excellent in their clinic at Casuarina as well. Both teams put on a fine display of running rugby and signed everything that was put in front of them afterwards. All up, it was a magnificent and very welcome boost for rugby. We are now focused on a review of the FNCRU Constitution. I hope that by the time this report is tabled we might have an updated and effective document on which to base our Governance. Thanks must go to Stephen O Brien, Mark Green, Lyn Larsen from NSWDSR and Ian Fullagar from Lex Sportiva for their help a support. Joseph Allen President FNCRU The season culminated in Illawarra with the Grand Finals held on the 2 September, where Avondale won the first grade, Bowral won the second grade and Shoalhaven won third grade. The results were very noteworthy in that Avondale was undefeated throughout the whole season, a very fine achievement. The win by Bowral was most satisfactory to the Bowral club and to all in the District as they over the past seven years have fought back to once again become a strong club in the Illawarra, their juniors great numbers, their clubhouse has been extended, they have a very vibrant committee and so it was a very well deserved win for the club. The Shoalhaven Rugby Club have always been strong but over the past few years they have not had a third grade side, nor have they had a premiership win since 2007 in any grade and this year with the rebuilding of their club they have been most successful. There were further milestones in that the Vikings Rugby Club had all three grades in the Grand Final, no mean achievement, their performances in all grades in the Grand Final were impressive. Add also then creditable performances by other clubs where they had been in the doldrums, but had bounced back, rebranding and growing. There was introduced to our competition a new third grade side which takes in the vast area of Albion Park, the Southern Crushers which is continuing to grow. We hope that they, with the support of their very vibrant committee are going to grow their club into a force in Illawarra. There was also the return of Wollondilly to our competition after a stint in Sydney Sub-district. We hope that in that growing area they will continue to progress and all our clubs agree we must evolve. The other side of the coin is of course the junior rugby movement and in that the 2017 season results were as follows: U10s Campbelltown Green U11s Campbelltown U12s Camden

24 U13s Campbelltown 2 nd XV Kiama Girls under 16s University 1 st XV Illawarra Blue (Kiama) Sydney Junior Finalist The junior competition has been in its second year of a revised format with junior rugby which we classify as under 17s, under 15s and 1 st XVs we classify under 16s and under 17s. This has been a successful approach with approximate group numbers increasing from It has been very pleasing to see this successful development and also the entry of the Southern Crushers Club which is the new club from the Albion Park area putting in a junior team. In a major change, Illawarra combined the first XV players and entered two teams in the Sydney Juniors. This was a successful move as one of the teams, Illawarra Blue team, competed in the Sydney major semifinals, and in the second major change a girls under 16 competition was run based on a 7s format and was highly successful. We are aiming to increase participation next year at U17 level and then move that into the seniors with women playing in a 7s competition. The junior arms of all clubs have continued to operate together to strengthen and develop junior rugby in Illawarra and it is based on three pillars: 1. User experience that includes the behavioural focus of Respect Rugby both on and off the field; 2. Attract - which provide a strong professional run competition; and 3. Retain - The implementation in 2017 of a coaching-directed at both senior level and junior level and the provision of suitable pathways for players of all grades and all ages to participate. The aim for junior and senior level and not only club but representative level to provide appropriate pathways to meet the ranges of player skills and ambitions and to have skilled coaches and referees that develop the players to make the game a more professional experience at both junior and senior level, to play an Illawarra style of rugby across the board. The board of Illawarra has worked very very hard and very cooperatively, in fact, our draw for the 2018 season is out and all clubs know where and when they are playing, when the competition starts and when it finishes so that they can start planning now for next season. I and my fellow board members would like to thank all country zones for their support at the representative level in our competitions as it has helped the Illawarra players in both seniors and juniors to be able to show their skills to one and all. We all thank Country Rugby for their strong leadership aims of putting country players on centre stage and we look forward to the 2018 season. Peter Woods President IDRU The MID NORTH COAST RUGBY UNION has had a very successful year in the Senior, Junior and Women levels with the support of the game extremely good. The Zone hosted a very successful 2017 NSW Country Championship s for Senior s, Colt s and Women s teams at Port Macquarie. Much appreciation must go to Marc Minor the Tournament Director who did a sensational job in organising such a wonderful event. Hastings Valley, Port Macquarie and Wauchope club s in their

25 involvement in the operations of the bar, canteen and gate was very important to making the Championships a success. Also thanks to the Ground Manager, Ian Felton and Time-keeper Steve Shields along with all the wonderful volunteers (there are too many to name and I may miss someone) from several clubs and also the local Port Macquarie area who were instrumental in the Championships being a success. Special mention to Alistair Flower from the Settlers Inn who was such a superb host to all Rugby followers and teams. Thanks to all involved in such a wonderful weekend. To top things off the Mid North Coast Senior Representative Team won the Richardson Shield at the 2017 NSW Country Rugby Championships for the very first time while Mid North Coast Junior Under 18 s also won their age group in the NSW Country Rugby Championships. Head Coach, Angus Anderson did a magnificent job and his preparation for detail in training and on field performance is second to none. Angus was well supported by Assistant Coaches, former Wallaby & South Africa Assistant coach Tim Lane and former Wallaby & ACT Brumbies player James Holbeck, Strength & Conditioning Trainer, former Olympian Andrew Currey, Selectors Chris Marchant and Richard Ball, Medical Supremo, Doug Piper and the very efficient Manager, Michael Reid. Angus introduced guest coaches throughout the program including Wallabies Forward Coach, Mario Ledesma while they also had a camp at the NSW Academy of Sport at Narrabeen and as well as an overnight camp on the river at Mick Walker s farm at Kew. Thanks to Peter Bessling who took control of the Colts team at the last minute and to the Manager, Peter Gerathy and Medical/Trainer, Paddy Bowen along with Stephen Lee who coached the Women s team and was ably assisted by Assistant Coach, Graham Sonter and Manager Jacky Ostler. All your involvement is very much appreciated. A number of players played in NSW Country Representative Teams in the Senior, Colts, Women s and Junior Age Group sides (these players are listed in the Juniors Report). The players were Bledynn Gant (Port Macquarie), A J Gilbert (Southern Cross University), Andrew West (Hastings Valley) in the Seniors, Jarrod Stewart (Port Macquarie) in the Colts and Kathleen Ostler (Port Macquarie), Kia Porter (Hastings Valley) and Emma Gillogly (Wauchope) in the Women s. This was an outstanding achievement for Rugby Union on the Mid North Coast. Congratulations to all these players. On top of this Southern Cross University won their first ever 1st Grade Premiership in the Upper Mid North Coast Competition while Wallamba also celebrated in the club s 10th Anniversary Year their first title when they took out the Lower Mid North Coast 1st Grade Competition. Southern Cross University dominance extended to Premierships in the Under 18 s, Under 16 s and Under 14 s Junior Competitions while Hastings Valley once again took out the Reserve Grade title. A Mid North Coast Women s Competition was held for the very first time and Port Macquarie were successful in winning the inaugural Premiership while Coffs Harbour tasted success with a very consistent year as they took out the Club Championship.

26 Both the UMNC and LMNC Grand Final Days were once again hosted in a top class manner by Hastings Valley and Forster-Tuncurry Rugby Club s respectively. I would like to acknowledge and thank all our sponsors for the 2017 season especially our Major Sponsor, the Settlers Inn at Port Macquarie. Owner Alistair Flower has been a tower of strength and his support of Rugby on the Mid North Coast is very much appreciative. Also, thanks to our other sponsors Port Macquarie Hastings Council, Carlton United Breweries, Kennard s Hire, Ki-ea Apartments, Team Spirit, Telstra, Coastline Credit Union and Dean Lawler s Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy Clinics. Your support is very much needed and truly appreciated. There was also a Coach the Coaches Day at Crescent Head where over 100 people attended including players, senior & junior coaches, officials, referees and managers in what was a very successful venture. Coaches included MNCRU Head Coach, Angus Anderson, Tim Lane, James Holbeck, ARU High Performance Coach, Jayson Brewer, Former Wallaby and Waratahs coach, Alan Gaffney. The Zone also held a very successful and very long Rugby Luncheon at the Settlers Inn with former Wallaby & Eastern Suburbs Rooster, Brett Papworth, former Wallabies Tom Bowman along with Tim Lane and James Holbeck, the Special Guests while the experienced former FOX SPORTS panellist, Mark Cashman did a wonderful job once again as the Master of Ceremonies. On a negative there has been an increase in unnecessary bad off field behaviour which is totally uncalled for in our game Rugby Union. Judiciary Chairman, Steve Shields and Assistant Chairman, James Kay and their committee have done an excellent job. It is only a few idiots that spoil it for others as Rugby is all about being competitive, enjoyment and comradery. Some people need to be reminded of this and/or be educated on what Rugby Union is all about. If not they should go back to the other sport they came from. I would like to thank and acknowledge the President, Mark MacKay who once again did a fantastic job in a first class manner, his dedication to Rugby on the Mid North Coast is very much appreciated. The same can be said for Treasurer, David Owen who fulfils his role in a first class and truly professional manner and has done for many years. The amount of work that Richard Jagger and David Nicol do is most appreciated as the time they spend on Junior Rugby is second to none. Paul Butcher a MNCRU Director has probably the most difficult portfolio and that is being responsible for formulating the Draws, a job that does not please everyone. Paul has to try and keep all club teams playing together as much as possible on Saturday which is impossible with uneven teams in the Senior Grades. Thanks Paul a job well done. Thanks to the other Directors David Munday, Craig Howe, Ian Felton, Teale Bryan and Stuart Paynter for their support and assistance in the operations and management of the Zone. Also, much appreciation to Mat Quirk who keeps the Competition Tables up to date each week, thanks Mat you do an extremely good job. As well as being a Director, Alan Wheatland was also President of the MNCRRA and along with the MNCRRA Secretary, Max Fulton both did a great job in allocating, coaching and following up referees as the games cannot go ahead without the man in the middle. Special mention to NSWRU Referee Development Manager for his coaching and guidance of the referees.

27 All your contribution to Rugby is very much appreciated despite all the advice you get from the very knowledgeable experts on the sideline. The Mid North Coast Referees also did a fantastic job with many new young referees joining our very competent experienced whistle blowers. The MNC Juniors has continued to grow and develop again in 2017 season and much thanks goes to all those that make Junior Rugby happen. Thanks in particular go to all the coaches and managers, to the Port Macquarie Juniors and Coffs Harbour Juniors Committees, to all the referees and a special thank you to the parents, supporters and all volunteers. Also, there are nearly 200 junior players from Under 6 s through to Under 12 s that play every Friday night in both Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie Competitions. Thanks to the new NSWRU Development Manager, Tom Davidson who is doing a remarkable job in promoting and development of the game in the juniors and schools and also for organising many coaching clinics and tournaments. The amount of work Tom is never ending and very difficult considering the large area he has to cover and the limited amount of financial resources the other three football codes have. Tom does a great job against all odds. I would like to thank all the players, coaches, officials, managers, referees, medical, sponsors, supporters and every volunteer involved in all clubs who have assisted and supported their clubs and Mid North Coast Rugby throughout You are all very much appreciated and the lifeblood of our great game. Believe me there is not a bigger network of people involved in any other sport than Rugby Union at all levels here and any around the world. Without any assistance from the ARU once again I would like to say that all these people in Seniors, Juniors and Women s keep Rugby Union on the Mid North Coast in a pretty good position, you are all very much appreciated. Special mention to NSWRU Referee Development Manager, Ron Mancell for his coaching and guidance of the referees. Bob Wilson Executive Officer MNCRU

28 David Clifton President NERU

29 The zone s Club Participation rate reduced by 2 teams during the 2017 season when compared to the previous season (see table below). Additionally, player registrations were 162 players down compared to the previous season (see table below). During the 2017 Season the NHRU secured a 21-year lease over No.2 Sportsground in conjunction with its co-tenant Wanderers RFC. In addition, a scoreboard investment was jointly funded between the stakeholders of No.2 Sportsground NHRU, Newcastle City Council and Wanderers RFC. The support of the NHRU Sponsors cannot be underestimated during the 2017 season and their support is greatly appreciated which aided the NHRU in delivering a surplus financial result for the second season in succession after recovering from significant deficits in prior years. Highlights of the 2017 Season included Wanders RFC winning the 2017 Club Championship and the Hamilton Hawks winning their 3 rd Premier 1 Major Premiership in a row. Congratulations also goes to our 2017 Rep Teams with our Colts side competing in the Final and our Seniors side winning the 2017 Country Championship. The zone continued experimenting with Dual Registration between Clubs for the second consecutive year during the 2017 season. Medowie agreed to become the stand-alone Premier 3 side for Nelson Bay via dual registration. Singleton Army agreed to become the stand-alone Premier 3 side for Singleton via dual registration. Pokolbin continued their dual registration arrangement with Maitland for the upcoming season between Socials 4s and Divisional Rugby. The zone s Player Points System cap (PPS) was dropped to 18 points (from 24 points) for the 2017 season and the non-local category was amended to cascade down in points depending how many seasons you have played for your particular club 1 year (3 points), 2 years (2 points) and 1 year (1 point). The 2017 season was the 3 rd season played under the PPS system Club Participation Prem Colts Social Pres Patr Total Total Total Club Rugby (u19s) 4s Cup Shield Teams Teams Teams Cessnock Rugby Club Cooks Hill RC Easts RUC East Maitland Eagles RC Griffins RUFC Hamilton Hawks RUFC Lake Macquarie RUFC Maitland RUFC Medowie & Districts RUFC * Merewether Carlton RUFC Muswellbrook RUFC Nelson Bay RUFC Newcastle University RUFC Pokolbin Singleton Army Lions RC * Singleton RUFC Southern Beaches RUFC Southern Lakes RUFC

30 The Waratahs RUFC Wanderers RUFC Totals * Medowie played as Nelson Bay P3 * Singleton Army played as Singleton P Zone Registrations Player registrations per Club is summarised in the table below. The NPF player levy ($33 per player) was introduced by the ARU at the start of the 2015 season. Clubs became a lot more judicious with registrations to avoid paying the levy on behalf of individuals who did not take the field more regularly and this has seen 2017 registrations reduce by 162 players when compared to the previous season. Club Cessnock Rugby Club Cooks Hill RC Easts RUC East Maitland Eagles RC Griffins RUFC Hamilton Hawks RUFC Lake Macquarie RUFC Maitland RUFC Medowie & Districts RUFC Merewether Carlton RUFC Muswellbrook RUFC Nelson Bay RUFC Newcastle University RUFC Pokolbin Singleton Army Lions RC Incorporated with Singleton Singleton RUFC Southern Beaches RUFC Southern Lakes RUFC The Waratahs RUFC Wanderers RUFC Totals 1,655 1,817 1,828 2, Season Results 2017 Minor Premiers Premier 1 Hamilton Hawks Premier 2 Wanderers Premier 3 Maitland Colts Merewether Carlton 1 President's Cup Southern Lakes Social 4s Merewether Carlton 2017 Major Premiers Premier 1 Premier 2 Premier 3 Hamilton Hawks Merewether Carlton Wanderers

31 Premier Colts Wanderers President's Cup Easts 1 Social 4s Merewether Carlton Western Plains Rugby Union 2017 has been another good season for Western Plains Rugby. Although the first grade table had 2 or 3 teams dominating the competition we had some huge upsets through the course of the season. As a result we only had 2 teams out of contention for a finals birth in the final round. Second grade was competitive but only 4 clubs managed to field a side in the competition meaning games became few and far between as such we will be looking at the structure of 2nds moving forward at the AGM. Congratulations must go to our Premiers, Nyngan in 2nds and Walgett in Firsts both grand finals went down to the wire & with juniors played before this we had great day of rugby. A big thanks to Steve O Brien and Matt Thomas for coming out to Walgett on grand final day, we understand its long way to travel but things like that are remembered and appreciated by our rugby community. Our Representative team was a bit better prepared at the country champs this year and as such we managed to improve our finish to 7 th overall and 3 rd in the Richardson Shield. With the championships at home next year we hope to keep on the upward trend. We also saw 2 of our guys selected in the NSW Country squad on the back of the improved team performance. The experience and confidence these guys gained was pretty plain to see and has had a great effect on their home clubs. We held a very successful BATYR fundraising round mid-season. All of clubs got behind the idea and wore the 1 sock 1 goal socks in both grades on the day. The day was capped off by Paddy Ryan appearing at Walgett in his role as BATYR ambassador he also took part in a development morning with our sub junior rugby clubs run by NSW rugby development officers. Our Sub junior rugby is growing at an exceptional rate, Bourke started a club this season and heading into 2018 we have 2 new clubs likely to start in Gulargambone and Cobar and we have interest from a third. This will bring our sub junior clubs to number 6. The kids enjoyed a trip to Sydney for a Waratahs experience early in the year and we hope to continue to do this moving forward. This year our D.O hopes to work with our primary schools to connect more kids with our junior clubs and therefore our senior clubs at the same time. We also had an award recipient at the NSW Rugby awards in Bec Yeomans from Walgett who was named Volunteer of the year for Sub Juniors. I don t think anyone was more deserving she is the driving force behind the growth in Western Plains Juniors. Our Junior/ High school aims are to hopefully gain some funding to get some 7 s training into the schools which boost our Kurtley Beale 7s competition. For the second year we pulled a boys U 17 s 7 s side together for the state Championships we also had 6 girls in the Central west girls U17 s side, so next year were aiming to get

32 our own girls side together. Our aim for getting this going is to connect the kids at school to our senior clubs and hopefully draw in some the kids that would normally just go play league. And from the girls perspective it might hopefully be the start of the formation of a women s competition. We still struggle for referee numbers. We have 4 guys but only 2 can commit week to week which makes it hard when we have 4 first grade games a week. We were fortunate this year to borrow from CN &CW on occasion. The guys are dedicated but when they are racking up 7000km in a season it s tough to get them to hang around too long! We hope to run a foundation course before next season to build our numbers. Moving into 2018 it looks to be a big season across Western Plains and something that we re all looking too, which will be highlighted by what we hope will be a very successful Country Champs. Peter Holcombe President WPRU

33 COUNTRY ZONE 1 ST GRADE PREMIERS 2017 Central Coast Rugby Union: Terrigal Rugby Club Central North Rugby Union: Pirates Rugby Club Central West Rugby Union: Forbes Rugby Club Far North Coast Rugby Union: Wollongbar Alstonville Rugby Club Illawarra District Rugby Union: Avondale Rugby Club Mid North Coast Rugby Union: SCU Marlins (Upper) Wallamba Bulls (Lower) New England Rugby Union: St Alberts College Rugby Club Newcastle Hunter Rugby Union: Hamilton Rugby Club Hunter Women s Rugby Union: Merewether/ Carlton Rugby Club Western Plains Rugby Union: Walgett Rugby Club COUNTRY CHAMPIONS 2017 Caldwell Cup: Newcastle Hunter Rugby Union Richardson Shield Mid North Coast Rugby Union Rowlands Colts Cup: Central Coast Rugby Union Colts Shield: Far North Coast Rugby Union Women s XV s: Hunter Women s Rugby Union Women s SEVEN s: Central West Women s Rugby Union

34 COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS 2017 Seniors: Caldwell Cup Newcastle Hunter 46 Illawarra 7 Richardson Shield Mid North Coast 31 Far North Coast 17 3rd & 4th Central West 49 Central North 3 Seeding Play off Central Coast 59 New England 21 Colts: Rowlands Colts Cup Central Coast 14 Newcastle Hunter 8 Colts Shield Far North Coast 31 Illawarra 5 3rd & 4 th Central West 41 New England 0 7th & 8 th Mid North Coast 29 Central North 7 Women s SEVEN s: Semi-Final No 1 Central West 31 Central North 5 Semi-Final No 2 Hunter 17 Mid North Coast 0 Final Central West 19 Hunter 10 Women s XV s: Championship Standings: Team P W L Bonus For Against TOTAL Position Hunter st Illawarra nd Central West rd Mid North Coast th Central North th PLAYER of the CARNIVAL: Kathleen OSTLER (Mid North Coast)

35 REPRESENTATIVE TEAM MANAGEMENTS 2017 NSW COUNTRY COCKATOOS Coach: Assistant Coaches: Team Manager: Assistant Team Manager Doctors: Physiotherapist: Selectors: Mat Thomas Paul Jeffrey Shaun McCreedy Matt Waterford Scott McKellar David Cannon Brian Witt Ben Mahon Mat Thomas Paul Jeffrey Shaun McCreedy NSW COUNTRY COCKATOO COLTS Coach: Assistant Coaches: Team Manager: Physiotherapist: Selectors: Chris Coleman Greg Horton David Hawthorne Casey Williams Chris Coleman Greg Horton NSW COUNTRY CORELLAS Coach: Assistant Coach: Team Managers: Assistant Team Manager: Physiotherapist: Selectors: Michael Burgess Murray Hooper Larry & Pam Thomson Tammy Clay Kim Duckworth Michael Burgess Murray Hooper Larry Thomson

36 NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY COCKATOOS RESULTS & SQUAD 2017 For all the news from throughout the year visit: Representative Match Results NSW Suburban Won 40 7 Brumbies Provincial Won Qld Country Lost NSW Country Cockatoos Players 2017 Charlie FRENCH Central West Jesse ROCHE Illawarra Andy RAE Illawarra Nathan BRENNAN NHRU Leighton COWLEY Illawarra Paul TUALA Illawarra Travis BROOKE NHRU Jono O TOOLE NHRU Grant KNIGHT Far-North Coast Sireli BAINIVALU NHRU Jack ARTHUR New England Pat KEEN Central North Dane Sherratt NHRU Josh Mann Western Plains Bleddyn GANT Mid-North Coast Henry YUILL Illawarra Adrian DELORE Newcastle Ethan MCINNES Central Coast Andy PAPWORTH Illawarra Kevin MCNAMARA Central Coast Dan RYAN Central West Ben EGAN Western Plains Tom SAWDEN Illawarra Rob Richardson Central Coast Andrew WEST Mid-North Coast Rapine Mason Illawarra Mitchell Krause Far North Coast Will Tanner Senior Player of the Year Nathan Brennan Singleton Rugby club Newcastle Hunter NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY COCKATOO COLTS RESULTS & SQUAD 2017 Representative Match Results For all the news from throughout the year visit: Sydney East (Gen Blue trial) Lost 8 10 Sydney West (Gen Blue trial) Won Qld Country Won Colts Player of the Year Riley Wilson Lennox Head Rugby Club Far North Coast

37 NEW SOUTH WALES COUNTRY CORELLAS RESULTS & SQUAD 2017 All the news from across the year visit: Representative Matches ACT Lost 0 12 Victoria Won Sydney Lost 0 27 Queensland Lost 0 22 ACT Lost 0 23 Victoria Won 22 7 Australian Combined Services Lost 10 7 NSW Country Corella Players 2017 Hayley Amm (Hunter), Brenda Auelua (Illawarra), Katrina Barker (Hunter), Rhiannon Byers (Central North), Rachel Crothers (Hunter), Britney Duff (Hunter), Melissa Fatu (Illawarra), Kimberley Fyfe (Central West), Eleanor Fordyce (Central North), Sally Fuesaina (Illawarra ), Kate Gilbert (Hunter), Emma Gillogly (Mid North Coast), Tahlia Goldsmith (Hunter), Jemima Henry (Illawarra), Mel Howard (Hunter), Annika Jamieson (Hunter), Skye Lovett (Hunter), Naomi Medlin (Hunter), Kathleen Ostler (Mid North Coast), Kitara Porter (Mid North Coast), Shana Povey-Hyatt (Central North), Mandy Scott (Central West), Sharnah Stevens (Central West), Martha Webber (Newcastle Wanderers). Women s Player of the Year Brittany Duff Newcastle University Rugby Club Hunter Wallaroo s selection 2017 Katrina Barker Newcastle University Rugby Club Hunter

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39 SPONSORS 2016