Downs Rugby Round Up May 2014

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1 Downs Rugby Round Up May 2014 Welcome to the May edition of the Downs Rugby Round Up. There is plenty happening this month with representative games, Teenage Rugby finals, staff changes and the signing of new sponsors. Downs Rugby has officially appointed Chris Bell to take over the vacant General Managers position as of the 19 th May. Geoff Kelk has now become a part of the Downs Rugby team in the Club Development Officer position funded until the end of the season under the jobs plan program. Geoff is a senior referee on the Downs and has been a part of Rugby in the region for many years. He has immediately added value to the organisation and will no doubt be at a game of yours soon. So please introduce yourself to Geoff. Additionally we welcome Barry O Sullivan to the Downs Rugby Boad. DOWNS RUGBY EVENTS DATE EVENT VENUE CONTACT 31 st May Dalby Ladies Day Dalby Rugby Club 1 st June 2014 Teenage Grand Finals Clive Berghofer Stadium Downs Rugby Office (07) /8/9 June Senior - Graincorp Country Championships Central QLD Rugby Union Downs Rugby Office (07) st June Roma Rugby Race Day Basset Park, Roma 16 th August Downs Rugby Awards Night The Cathedral Centre Downs Rugby Office (07) To promote your club events, please your dates to mitchell.simpson@downsrugby.com.au Downs Rugby is proudly Sponsored by May 2014 Page 1

2 WAGNERS TEENAGE GRAND FINALS Toowoomba Sports Ground, Arthur St Sunday 1 st June Age Time Team V Team U13 10am Souths V Bears Gold U am Bears V Goondiwindi U pm USQ V Goondiwindi U pm Souths V Bears This Sunday will see the culmination of the Wagners Teenage Rugby competition with the Grand Finals held at the Toowoomba Sports Ground. U13 South Toowoomba (1) V Toowoomba Bears Gold (2) Souths have been the form team of the comp going through the season undefeated, with 7 wins and 3 draws. The two times these side have met have met this season there was a 17 all draw, and a win to the in favour of the Souths side, which suggests there is not much between these two sides heading into the GF. U14 Toowoomba Bears (1) V Goondiwindi Emus (2) The Bears side have gone through the season without losing a game and will start as slight favourites heading into the GF. Their two meetings this season saw the Bears take both wins, with their round 4 match a 17 0 win, however their round 9 clash Bears only took a 2 point win so the decider could be anyone s game. U15 USQ Saints (1) V Goondiwindi Emus (2) With a mere two bonus points handing USQ the under 15 minor premiership over the Emus, there is not much splitting these two sides. The sides met 3 times in 2014, with USQ leading with 2 wins to the Emu s 1 so will again be a close final. U16 South Toowoomba (1) V Toowoomba Bears (2) Souths were again another undefeated team in 2014, and would likely start as favourites in this age group. The Bears side hasn t had quite the game time together as the Souths side has, but has some serious strike power in their side. The Bears will need to bring their best to win this one and anything can happen come Grand Final day. All games are 1 v 2 from each respective comp ladder, so will be the best of the best competing this weekend. Photo By Debbie Little Goondiwindi V USQ u15s May 2014 Page 2

3 REPRESENTATIVE NEWS Seniors: Darling Downs seniors had their tails up heading to Noosa last weekend coming off the back of 3 strong wins throughout the pre season and took away one the strongest sides the Downs has seen in recent years. Saturday saw the Downs side come up against tough opponents in the Gold Coast and fought out a gripping game of Rugby. It was a see-saw battle with the two sides going toe to toe all game, eventually seeing Gold Coast run out victors. The Downs dynamic try scoring ability was on show with the side actually scoring 5 tries to Gold Coast's 3, with discipline leading to numerous Gold Coast penalty goals the only thing letting the Downs side down. Downs took on the Sunshine coast on the Sunday and again came up against some stiff competition. Downs had a strong first half with just a converted try on half time allowing the Stingrays to take an 11 point lead into the break. A try straight after half time extended their lead to 18 points and despite a late second half try to Sam Hogarth the lead wasn't able to be pinned back. 7 Downs players were selected into the South QLD Side including; Jay Schulte, Sam Hogarth, Sonny Power, Terry Harvey, Matt Howse, Troy Hobbs, Paul Maguire. Downs senior head coach Rob Johnston has also been named as the South QLD head coach so we wish him and all the players the best of luck. Under 19: The Darling Downs Under 19 side had a successful South QLD campaign last weekend when they took one of the strongest side in recent years to Noosa to take on their coastal counterparts. With no Gold Coast side to play, Sunshine Coast provided a second presidents XV side to take on the Downs and was a real test for our boys. In a tight tussle, Downs unfortunately went down by just 1 point with the final score being The Sunday games saw Downs take on traditional rivals in the Sunshine Coast. Downs showed their depth and courage and played a great game of Rugby to knock off the Sunshine coast side With just a few minutes to go the Downs side were down by 3 and we able to dig deep to hold field position and eventually forced their way over for the match winning try. Coach Mike Dillon spoke of his side, "it was great to see how committed and motivated the side was and it showed the talent we have on the paddock" Downs were lucky enough to have 13 boys selected in the South Queensland U19 side; Luke Willet, Ben Dillon, Jack Kuskie, Hayden Brown, John Maloney, Matt Bourke, Dane Hurrell, Will Gilbert, Cam Griffin, Dom Van Bakel, Tod Bichel, Stewy Milne, Jack Popalowski. May 2014 Page 3

4 2014 WAGNERS SENIOR COMPETITION NEWS After 7 Rounds of the Wagners Risdon Cup we have a very interesting competition on our hands. Dalby are still undefeated and look to be the side to beat in Toowoomba Rangers and the Goondiwindi Emus are not far behind and look to be the the front runners for this years Risdon Cup. One of the big movers this season is the St George Frillnecks, who have won 4 games this year and are currently sitting 4 th on the A Grade ladder. The player of the year competition is also hotting up with just four points seperating the top 16 players after 7 Rounds of compeititon. Dalby fullback Paul maguire currently leads the A Grade try scoring tally with 12 tries, closely followed by Goondiwindi players Sam Bursle and Nick Perkins equal on second place with 8 tries. We are still two rounds away from the halfway point of the season, so there is plenty of Rugby left on the 2014 calendar WAGNERS JUNIOR COMPETITION NEWS The Toowoomba Bears carnival was held on the 17 th May, and saw hundreds of players, officials and supporters pack into the Downlands Rugby oval complex. It was the second carnival for the year and as always is a great carnival of Rugby. Well done to the Bears for hosting yet another successful carnival. Just one more weekend of Rugby before we head into the long weekend break before we get into the middle part of the season Downs Rugby is pleased to announce that is has partnered up with BLK for the next three years. BLK is now the official apparel sponsor of Downs Rugby. Downs Rugby has been using BLK (or Kooga as it used to be) for our representative apparel for a number of years and are happy knowing our players are in quality and reliable gear. If you would like to get in contact with BLK for your club, head to their website at or contact the local sales representative, Dimity Sullivan on or by ing dimity@wrsgroup.com.au. May 2014 Page 4

5 DARLING DOWNS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER JAMES O KEEFE DARLING DOWNS CLUB GRANT PREPARATION 2014 As a part of my role as Development Officer for the Darling Downs the last couple weeks I have made a substantial focus on the coordination of all Government grants for each of our clubs across the downs. This approached has allowed me to learn a considerable amount about our region and the areas we need to address, so that our future generations can enjoy the game we all know and love. So far for 2014 I will be submitting a total of 43 grants (more to come!!) varying in nature, totalling approximately $1,205,000. It is my hope that we can be successful in a number of these grants which will lead to the improvement of many rugby facilities, helping volunteers and making clubs more profitable. NATIONAL RUGBY WEEK National Rugby Week is an Australian Rugby Union run initiative, which is being rolled out amongst schools within the whole of Australia. All schools have to do is sign up, they received a free start up kit including 2 rugby balls, 10 marker cones & 1 whistle which will help the school getting involved in 40minutes of Tag/Contact rugby games/skills in a National Rugby Week. National Rugby Week is a new way girls and boys can try the new, fun, safe and fast paced game of non-contact 7 s, and learn about the Rugby Valued of integrity, respect, teamwork, discipline and passion through a range of innovative learning experiences on the field. National Rugby Week will be run the week before the Bledisloe Cup, contested between Australia and New Zealand. If you think your school should be included in this great program, then please visit the link below and get your child s teacher to sign the school up! To register and find out more information please visit ST. GEORGE ROOKIES TO REDS Another group of clinics are just starting around the Toowoomba area. St. George Rookies to Reds runs for a total of 5 weeks, each participant receives their own pack which includes plenty of great gear plus 4 tickets to a reds game of your choice. These are the current centres that are active, - Toowoomba East State School (Tuesdays) - Martin Luther Primary (Wednesdays) - Christian Outreach College (Thursdays) - St Saviour s Primary (Fridays) ROOKIES TO REDS SCHOOL HOLIDAY CLINIC This year s Rookies to Reds School Holiday Clinic will be run at Heritage Oval on the 2 nd July, starting at 9am and concluding at 2.30pm! Get in now before all the spots fill up!! May 2014 Page 5

6 THE REFS CALL In this new section of the newsletter we go into the mind of a referee to gain some insight to the laws of the game. Play the game on your feet. Rugby is a game that must be played on your feet. This term on your feet is found throughout the Laws of the Game and is easy to understand except for one small detail- that is if a player is off their feet then they are out of the game. On your feet refers to a player who has all of their body weight solely supported by their feet. A player off their feet is a player on the ground not supporting their body weight, this includes sitting, leaning against another player, on one knee. Any player in this scenario is out of the game. Therefore if you play the ball off your feet you are denying a fair contest for the ball as you are out of the game. If you are the tackler you need to roll way and come back through gate to contest the ball, if allows you to be back in the game as you are on your feet. Another area that raises conjecture and is related to the first issue is scoring a try whilst short of the line. Law 22.4 states a try can be scored two ways in this instance. Momentum- If an attacking player with the ball is tackled short of the goal line but the players momentum carries the player in a continuous movement along the ground into the opponents in goal, and the player is first to ground the ball, a try is scored. Tackled near the goal line- if a player is tackled near to the opponent s goal line so that the player can immediately reach out and ground the ball on or over the goal line, a try is scored. As referees we hear too many time the phrase it s a double movement when players dispute a try in these circumstances. As referees we have to look at the process. Did the player s momentum carry him over the line if yes then a try is scored. If not, then the player was tackled short and must immediately play the ball in any direction. If yes and the ball is touching the goal line then a try is scored. If not played immediately and the player progresses the ball onto the goal line then a penalty is awarded to the non infringing side for playing the off their feet. It s simple- stay on your feet. Darling Downs Rugby Referees Association Proudly Sponsored by May 2014 Page 6

7 Volunteer of the Month Narelle Shervey Highfields Redbacks Narelle is a long-time volunteer of the Redbacks, who this year has taken on the role of the canteen coordinator on the committee, and used to also be the Seniors manager. Travelling in an hour each way from out of town, Narelle no longer has family ties to the club yet still volunteers and puts in the long hours for the love of the club. WHY DO YOU LOVE VOLUNTEERING FOR YOUR CLUB? The club is like a family to me and I just love helping out the kids.the smiles on their faces when you do something special for them says it all. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CLUB AND HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED? About 6 or 7 years ago our nephews asked my husband and I to come and watch them play a game and it has just moved on from there. WHAT IS YOUR BEST RUGBY MEMORY OR MOMENT? Watching our great nephew score his first try in Rugby. What a moment for the little man and us. WHY SHOULD PEOPLE VOLUNTEER? It gives me a lot of satisfaction and pride to work with other volunteers to achieve certain goals for our club. Also I think we should be role models for the kids to teach them many hands make light work and it is better to give than to receive May 2014 Page 7

8 2014 DOWNS RUGBY OFFICE BEARERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS Board Directors: Senior Committee: Teenage Committee: Junior Committee: High Performance Rugby Committee: Match Officials Committee Judicial Committee LIFE MEMBERS: Mike Horan (Chair), Dick Webster, Mark Brownlie, Rod Hohn, Scott Mead and Danielle Bermingham, Barry O Sullivan. Brock Johnston (Chair), Doug McNicholl, Mick Gall, Dom O Connor and Joel Rickuss. Malcolm Hosking (Chair), Mike Dillon, Dwyane McLaren, Mike Gregory and Phil Neidler. Tadhg Sheehan(Chair), David Wigan, Nathan Bradley, Sean Rice and Matt Reen. Marty Leggat (Chair), Rob Johnston, John Gordon, Grant Gleeson and Cameron Donaldson. Scott Lindblom (Chair), Jabour Hanna, Peter Buchanan and Kevin Doggett Dave Power (Chair), Michael Beeston and Matt Howard Don Trenerry, Bill Flamsteed, Geoff Makim, David Thompson, Harry Hilder, Tess Hilder, Denis Hanrahan, Desley Hanrahan, Michael Doherty, John Handley, Gary Bloustien. Downs are proudly Sponsored by: Downs Rugby Representative program proudly sponsored by; May 2014 Page 8

9 OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS:- Unit 11, Anzac Central, 189 Anzac Avenue, Toowoomba Q 4350 P: (07) W: POSTAL ADDRESS:- PO Box 1070, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350 OUR TEAM Chris Bell General Manager M: E: Chris.Bell@downsrugby.com.au Downs Rugby Ltd MITCHELL SIMPSON Club Development Officer M: E: Geoff Kelk Club Development Officer M: E: Geoff.Kelk@downsrugby.com.au JAMES O KEEFE Queensland Rugby Development Officer M: E: James.O'Keefe@qru.com.au May 2014 Page 9