Downs Rugby Round Up September 2014

Transcription

1 Downs Rugby Round Up September 2014 Welcome to the September edition of the Downs Rugby Round Up Monthly Agenda - Brisbane Premier Grade Club GPS tour to Goondiwindi (26 th September) Wagners Senior Finals Series - Super Saturday 2 (30 th August) - Preliminary Final (6 th September) - Grand Final (13 th September) - Darling Downs NZ Senior Rep Tour (19 th 28 th September) - Referee in the Spotlight (Geoff Kelk) - QRU Development Officer Monthly Update (James O Keefe) - New Teenage Rep Pathway Announced (Starting 19 th October) - Downs Junior Rugby News - Dalby Juniors Carnival (6 th September) - U9 s Risdon Cup Curtain Raiser - Volunteer of the Month (Daniel Spencer Toowoomba Rangers) To promote your club events, please your dates to winterm@downsrugby.com.au Downs Rugby is proudly sponsored by AUGUST 2014 Page 1

2 Website/Facebook Media Available Grand Final Photos Downs Rugby Awards Night Photos New YouTube Channel (Downs Rugby YouTube Channel) Risdon Cup GF Video Highlights (now available to view for free) FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTY in GOONDIWINDI GPS Rugby club from the Premier Brisbane Rugby Union competition toured to Goondiwindi to take on the Emu s in a post season game at 7:30pm (26/9/14) under the lights at Riddles Oval. The game was an absolute belter and turned out to be a nail-biter. Together with Downs Rugby, Goondiwindi and GPS will look to continue this yearly fixture timing in nicely with the Goondiwindi B & S. A big thank you must go out to Phillip Breslin for refereeing this year s game and stay tuned for updates as this concept is looking promising for expansion in next year s fixture! Final Score Goondiwindi Emus 5 GPS Gallopers 12 September 2014 Page 2

3 2014 WAGNERS SENIOR RUGBY FINALS SERIES Super Saturday 2 (Goondiwindi Riddles Oval - August 30 th 2014) Toowoomba Rangers (3 rd ) vs Toowoomba Bears (5 th ) The second week of finals saw us head to Riddles Oval in Goondiwindi. First up in A Grade was the Elimination Semi between Rangers & Bears. Rangers had played some of their best football all season in a narrow loss to Dalby the week before and Bears had comfortably accounted for a resurgent St. George team, so with both teams in form the excitement was building all week for this contest. After a nervous few opening minutes both teams were back and forth at each other in both defence and attack but it was Rangers lack of discipline at the breakdown which allowed Chase Berg to open the scoring through a penalty goal. A few minutes later Berg would kick Bears further ahead to take a 6-0 lead after 25 minutes of play. This seemed to spark Rangers into action! A brilliant solo effort from Winger Tom Caskey and a clinical finishing move from fullback Lachlan Stuart had Rangers ahead 14-6 at the break. The halftime break seemed to spur the Rangers outfit on further as they came out firing and quickly put Tom Caskey over for his second of the day in the 45 th minute. Caskey would later go off the field injured after receiving a heavy knock to his left shoulder. After Bears produced their only points of the half again through winger chase Berg, Rangers would run in tries at regular intervals through Matt Lyons, Mitchell Cush, Lachlan Stuart and Stu Killen to see the match out comfortably Goondiwindi Emus(1 st ) vs Dalby Wheatmen (2 nd ) Up next was the Qualifying Final between Goondiwindi & Dalby. Dalby had just come off a very physical game against Rangers the week before but it didn t show in the early stages with the Dalby pack going toe to toe with a fresh legged Goondiwindi outfit. After 15 minutes of relentless attack the Goondiwindi side came up empty handed and Dalby marched down field on the back of some brilliant pin point kicking from fly half James Galligan. With possession 40 metres from the Goondiwindi line Dalby spread the ball and found outside centre Troy Hobbs, Hobbs would chip and chase and then re-gather after a freakish bounce to cross next to the uprights to give the Dalby side a 7-0 lead after 25min. Ten minutes later Hobbs would score again, finishing off a well worked backline play, Dalby looked like taking a 14-0 lead into the break but Goondiwindi surged late and off the back of a rolling maul prop Brett Corish would plant the ball down out wide to bring the score at halftime, Dalby 14 Goondiwindi 5. Both teams were back and forth in the early exchanges in the second half, looking very composed in both defence and attack. Dalby had themselves camped inside the Goondiwindi 22m for the majority of the second half and eventually crossed through centre Broc Turner. Five minutes later Troy Hobbs would cross the line for the third time of the afternoon to give himself a rare finals hat trick with little time left on the clock. Despite time being their enemy Goondiwindi continued to attack with purpose, fullback Michael Jamieson toiled hard all day for the Emus and was brilliant at the back, running the ball hard and linking up well with his outside September 2014 Page 3

4 backs. Dalby were deserved winners on the day running out 26-5 victors. Goondiwindi seemed to lack their usual polish in attack that saw them dominate throughout the entire regular season, having said that full credit to the Dalby side. They were composed from start to finish and played mistake free, attacking rugby for the full 80min. B Grade Elimination final: Condamine 31 defeated Bears 3 B Grade Qualifying final: Goondiwindi 14 defeated Dalby 5 C Grade Elimination final: Chinchilla 19 defeated Bears 11 C Grade Qualifying final: Goondiwindi 22 defeated Dalby 15 Preliminary Final (Goondiwindi Riddles Oval 6 th September 2014) Goondiwindi Emus (1 st ) vs Toowoomba Rangers (3 rd ) Once again we found ourselves at Riddles Oval in Goondiwindi for more finals action! Goondiwindi started that game on the front foot, having kicked off and regained possession straight away they had the Rangers defence immediately on its heels. After five minutes of attacking the line Goondiwindi could only come away with a penalty goal to take an early 3-0 lead. It didn t last long as two minutes later Rangers crossed out wide through outside centre Matthew Lyons, the conversion would be unsuccessful and Rangers would hold a 5-3 advantage. Both teams were definitely up for the occasion with several massive hits being put on in defence and all thoughts of self-preservation being thrown out the window at the breakdown. Goondiwindi would kick another penalty goal to take a tight 6-5 lead with 20min left in the first half. From then on Rangers dominated territory and possession, forcing Goondiwindi to attack from deep in their own half every time they got their hands on the ball. Each time the Rangers backline got their hands on the ball they looked threatening and it was right on the stroke of halftime that Matthew Lyons would once again score out wide to give Rangers a 10-6 lead. After the break Goondiwindi again started the better of the two sides desperately not wanting to lose consecutive matches at home for the first time in recent memory. They kicked yet another penalty goal to close the gap to 10-9 and were lifted by the vocal home crowd wanting to see their side make the Grand Final for 3 successive years! After 10 minutes of relentless attack they finally cracked the Rangers defensive line out wide through winger Sam Bursle, the conversion was missed and the lead was in favour of the home side with 20min remaining. Unfortunately this was all the home team could muster as the Rangers talented backline took over the game from here on out. September 2014 Page 4

5 Matthew Lyons and Andrew Turner were unstoppable in counter attack and always seemed to beat the first tackle. After some well worked backline play fiveeighth Sam Hannant scored next to the posts to give Rangers a lead with 5 minutes remaining. Goondiwindi had time for one more crack at the Rangers line but couldn t manage to come away with points! As the fulltime siren sounded all that could be heard were the exhausted cheers of the Rangers players & management. The 1500 strong crowd that had come to support their home team were completely shocked! Goondiwindi did their best to try and stay with the Rangers outfit but just couldn t match their speed and execution. Matthew Lyons would prove the difference on the day scoring two tries and absolutely smothering any Goondiwindi player that touched the ball, his best performance all year. Big congratulations must go to Goondiwindi, having played one of the more dominant regular seasons we have ever seen on the downs this year and once again being crowned minor premiers. B Grade Preliminary Final Condamine Cods 15 Dalby Wheatmen 13 C Grade Preliminary Final Dalby Wheatmen 27 Chinchilla River Rats 7 Grand Final (Toowoomba Sports Ground 13 th September 2014) C GRADE 23-7 E.S. Dooney Memorial Trophy Premiers Dalby Wheatmen Runner Up Goondiwindi Emus Coming into the C Grade Grand Final Goondiwindi were hot favourites having not lost a game all year and playing football that wouldn t be out of place in higher competition. That didn t mean anything to the Dalby team come kick off! Both teams were willing to spread the ball in search of early points. Following an attacking Goondiwindi scrum, Dalby blindside flanker Tim Joseph intercepted a pass from the no.8 and went nearly the length of the field to score next to the uprights to give Dalby the 7-0 lead after 10min. Dalby would continue to dominate field position and possession for the rest of the half but true to Goondiwindi s nature they defended brilliantly and only allowed two penalty goals to leave the halftime score at September 2014 Page 5

6 After the break Goondiwindi scored within the first minute of play after Brett Castle stormed over to bring the score to 13-7 and ensure a thrilling second half of action. Both teams defended stoutly the entire second half after repeatedly denying each other opportunities to score on their own line. Dalby would finally crack Goondiwindi again with only 3min remaining through centre Troy Francis to take the lead out to 23-7 and seal a memorable victory for the club! B GRADE 18-8 Bill Flamsteed Trophy Premiers Goondiwindi Emus Runner Up Condamine Cods The energy and atmosphere was electric as Condamine ran onto the park with the green machine crowd in full voice. There were some huge hits at the breakdown and in open play to begin the match between the highly fancied minor premiers Goondiwindi and the underdog Cods outfit. The Emu s were able to open the scoring 10 minutes in through a penalty kick and then after 20 minutes relentless pick and drive work paid off with Doug Mcdougal (Goondiwindi) crashing over the line from short range. The teams then traded penalties to make the score 13-3 to Goondiwindi at half time. The second half started off much like the first with some bruising tackling and clinical breakdown work. Goondiwindi looked the more comfortable of the two teams with some handling errors from Condamine costing them early opportunities. It was a wrestle for territory until about 20 minutes to go when Goondiwindi were able to free the ball up and outside centre Hayden Everingham scored to take the lead out to 15 points (18-3). The Cods never gave up and scored a late try through second rower Dave Harris after some patient build up play to make the score 18-8 and that s the way it stayed until the final whistle. Goondiwindi were the best side throughout the competition and were able to close out the season in grand fashion. Condamine should take a lot of confidence out of the 2014 season making it all the way to the big one and producing some amazing footy in the finals series. September 2014 Page 6

7 A GRADE 21-8 Risdon Cup Premiers Toowoomba Rangers Runner Up Dalby Wheatmen The 50 th year Risdon Cup Grand Final saw the 3 rd placed Toowoomba Rangers taking on the 2 nd placed Dalby Wheatmen after both teams were able to put away minor premiers Goondiwindi at home, which did not happen all year in the regular season. So both teams form was red hot coming into the Grand Final and the excitement was building all week coming into the contest. The game started and the pace was frantic, both teams traded penalty kicks in the first 10 minutes to make the score 3-3. Both teams tried to find their rhythm but found it difficult to break the very committed defensive lines. As the game progressed last pass handling errors were becoming costly with both sides blowing opportunities to score. With the Half coming to a close Dalby were able to build some pressure and after many phases of possession inside the Rangers 22 metre line, No.8 Tom Capel found his way to the line to put the Wheatmen in front 8-3. Toowoomba Rangers Fullback Andrew Turner was able to convert another penalty to make the score 8-6 going into the break. The second half started and tension was building with players niggling at one another. It finally came to the boil with Rangers prop Seb Wilson given 10 in the bin. Dalby then went on the attack with the one man advantage and peppered the Rangers try line. After some big defence Toowoomba got themselves out of trouble and were able to capitalize on a shanked kick from Dalby Co-Captain Paul Maguire; launching a counter-attack inside their own half with Andrew Turner showing some serious wheels to finish in the corner. A second Rangers try one man down, came a few minutes later courtesy of a trademark Grant Angel in-and-away. This brought the score to 21-8 and whilst Dalby kept coming at them till the end, the score didn t change and the Toowoomba Rangers were crowned the 50 th year Risdon Cup Premiers. Rangers No.8 Tom Simpson was named September 2014 Page 7

8 the Vince Birmingham Man of the Match. The 50 th year of the Risdon Cup has been a fantastic year of Senior Rugby on the Downs. Goondiwindi and Dalby were near unstoppable during the regular season but dark horse Toowoomba Rangers stuck in there and were able to hit their straps come finals time and the rest is history, stay tuned to Downs Rugby on Facebook and the website to keep up to date on news regarding the 2015 Risdon Cup. September 2014 Page 8

9 2014 DARLING DOWNS NZ TOUR (19 th 28 th September 2014) Vs Otago Development Squad 0-82 Vs Oamuru Rugby club Vs Queenstown Country The Allflex Darling Downs rep team has just returned from a very successful tour of the South Island of NZ. A squad of 29 players played 3 games in 8 days and acquitted themselves extremely well. The coaching staff where extremely happy with each game and certainly learnt a lot about our players. (Coach Rob Johnson) "It would have been comfortable to head to NZ and play against teams that would be easy to beat but we wanted to test our players and really make them step outside their comfort zone". The first game was against the Otago development squad on Saturday afternoon. As we only got 1 training run together on match morning we were very under done and soon learnt we were also extremely out classed. The Otago team had 6 players that had played ITM cup, 2 Tongan internationals and 2 junior All Blacks, but what a game to play as we never gave up and showed true darling downs rugby character and we certainly earnt the respect of our opposition by games end. The second game in Oamuru was a lot closer with the Downs team eventually losing This was out chance to blood 4 new young players that had never played for the senior rep team before, 1 of these players Lachlan Tulloch who is still 20 years old was awarded man of the match. The average age of the front row in this game was 21 plus John Maloney made his debut of the bench and played the house down and he is only 18, so as you can see the coaching staff where looking to the future and from all reports it looks very bright. The third game was against representative team Queenstown Country who had just played their Grand Final coming off an 8 week season. Downs were carrying a few injuries with Troy Hobbs, Levi Power and Tom Capel all ruled out. Again the coaches looked to the future and played a very young team, led by experienced captain Sonny Power. In the lead up to this game we paid tribute to Matt Howse who was retiring from Downs after playing in his first game in Matt has always lead from the front and in the last few years he has been an example to the younger players of his professionalism and his pride in wearing the green and gold of Downs. The game was played in the windiest conditions that anyone could ever remember and at 7-7 all at half time and one of our players was sent off early in the second half; the writing was on the wall for a huge last up lose. But in true Darling Downs spirit the team rallied behind senior players like Sam Hannant and Adam Bench to throw everything they had at them. It came down to the last play of the game and Queenstown Country kicked a penalty goal from half way to win September 2014 Page 9

10 The objective of this tour to NZ was to spend some time as a team preparing ourselves for the championship games next season and although the team came away without a win this objective was surely meet. The future of Downs rugby is looking strong with so many talented young players coming through to mix with the more experienced players in this squad. REFEREE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Geoff Kelk How long have you been a referee? I started refereeing four years ago. Why did you become a referee? I was asked to ref one of my sons junior games, someone threw me a whistle and I thought to myself this is not too bad. I then decided to take it on as a challenge and to improve myself. I played a lot of rugby here on Downs after I left school over twenty years ago for Roma, Dalby and Bears. So it was good for me to spend Saturdays with my son. What s it like being involved with the junior referee academe? The junior Academy has been a real highlight because it shows them there is another pathway in Rugby apart from the player route. They can expand their understanding of the game and allows them to react in pressure situations. Some of the boys got to have a one on one with current test referee Rohan Hoffman a few weeks back so he could pass on what he has learnt at the highest level to them. It also shows people there is a succession path for referees and we are able to introduce younger referees in the senior competition. Why should others become referees? 1. It keeps you fit; 2. You get the best seat in the house; 3. Mentally tests you every time; 4. Helps your thought processes and allows to logically process information in quick time. 5. You can travel anywhere and get a game if its Rugby season. 6. Allows you to have in-depth conversations with other informed rugby people. 7. It gets you out of the house. Thoughts on the standard of rugby on the downs compared to anywhere else you have refereed? The standard of rugby here on the Downs is super competitive and intense compared to other regions I have refereed in. As a region we can t lose this and need to maintain the high standard like we currently have. Each game I have refereed here on the Downs is different so as referees we need to maintain high standards to match the standard of the games. The Darling Downs Rugby Referees Association proudly sponsored by September 2014 Page 10

11 DEVELOPMENT OFFICER REPORT Queensland Rugby Union Development Officer, Darling Downs - James O'Keefe James.okeefe@qru.com.au QUEENSLAND SEVENS REVIEW 2014 A total of 18 teams from 10 schools came together for the 2014 Queensland 7 s Tournament at Highfields Redbacks Rugby Union Club. There were a total of 4 age groups contested in the Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 boys. There were total of 34 games were played on the day, with many participants new to rugby it was a steep learning curve for many. There was plenty of free flowing rugby as soon as the participants found out how much space there is in the sevensa-side variant of the sport. In the Under 12 Division, Dalby Christian College, Concordia, Dalby South State School and Highfields State School competed. Highfields progressed throughout the day with 3 wins from 3 games played and they faced off against Dalby South State School to determine the winner of the age group. Highfields came out strong with 3 first half try s to Dalby South s 1. The second half saw Highfields add a further 2 try s to their total, running out winners 31 to 5 over Dalby South State School. Congratulations to super coach Evan Mackay and the Highfields Boys! The Under 14 age group saw the inclusion of Dalby Christian College, Concordia, Centenary Heights from pool 1 and Pittsworth State High School, Our Lady of the Southern Cross Dalby and Lockyer District State High School in Pool 2. After the regular rounds we saw Pool 1 s first place go to Concordia, second to Centenary Heights and third to Dalby Christian College. Pool 2 s first place went to Our Lady of the Southern Cross Dalby, second to Pittsworth State High School and third to Lockyer District State High. For the finals proceedings we saw Lockyer State High verse Dalby Christian College for the 5 th & 6 th playoff. The final score was Lockyer 24 to Dalby Christian College 5. The 3 rd and 4 th playoff saw Pittsworth account for Centenary Heights 19 to nil. The 1 st v 2 nd place in the Under 14 s age division was Concordia against Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby. Concordia ran out winners in this playoff game as they ran in 3 second half tries to Our Lady s 1. The final score was 17 to 14. Congratulations to Concordia Under 14 Boys! In the Under 16 s age group we saw Dalby State High School, Our Lady of the Southern Cross Dalby, Concordia, Pittsworth State High School and Centenary Heights State High School compete. The Pittsworth SHS boys quickly adapted to the nature of the game, which saw them notch up early wins. Dalby SHS were looking very promising in their first game for the day and in the second round they faced Pittsworth SHS which was the telling September 2014 Page 11

12 factor for who would finish first in the U16 age division. Pittsworth ran in 6 tries to 1 in the first half in this bruising encounter to lock up first place. A notable mention should go to Our Lady from Dalby, Concordia and Centenary Heights who played with great enthusiasm which resulted in some amazing phases of play which had all spectators jaws dropped. The final match in the U16 s saw Pittsworth take on Dalby SHS in a rematch. In this match we saw Dalby State High contain Pittsworth s pace out wide for a period of time within the first half. Something had to give and it was Dalby s defensive line. This resulted in a 4 try to 1 win to Pittsworth State High School. Congratulations to Pittsworth State High for Finishing 1 st in the Under 16 s competition. The Senior Boys competition saw a couple of late withdrawals which resulted in Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby, Harristown State High School and Lockyer District State High School compete against each other for the day. Throughout the tournament we saw Our Lady win their first three pool rounds which saw them account for Harristown SHS in game 9 with a score line of 20 to 12. This resulted in both Our Lady and Harristown both finishing the day with 3 wins one 1 loss each. The final game for the day again saw these two teams scheduled to play against each other again. This time it was a different story, as you could see the experience gathered by Harristown throughout the tournament saw them contain Our Lady and run out with a 4 try to 2 victory. Our Lady finished with a +41 in for and against whilst Harristown finished with +49 which saw them finish in 1 st position for the 2014 Carnival. There will be a Girls 7 s tournament in the near future, so if you have a daughter get them to get their school to register interest with me! A big thank you to Tadhg Sheehan and his lovely canteen ladies for helping out on the day! Level Two Coaching Course - Ballymore Venue: Ballymore 231 Butterfield St, Herston Date: Friday 21 st, Saturday 22 nd & Sunday 23 rd November Queensland Rugby is now accepting applications for our upcoming level 2 coaching Course Eligibility: Applicants must hold a current Level 1 Coaching Accreditation and valid Smart Rugby Compliance. Applicants must have a minimum of two years coaching experience and have coached at a school or club within the last 2 years. Cost: $440 (includes 3 day workshop, accreditation fee, catering and coaching resources. How to Apply? - Please me at james.okeefe@qru.com.au and I can send through the relevant application documents. September 2014 Page 12

13 NEW TEENAGE REP PATHWAY ANNOUNCED Darling Downs Teenage Rep Development Squad 2014/2015 In past years the Downs Teenage Representative Teams have had mixed results at the annual State Championships, generally due to poor game skills and lack of cohesion related to insufficient, disjointed and hasty preparation. To address these concerns and bring a more cohesive and focused skills based approach to the Teenage Representative pathway, we (the Board, Teenage Committee and the Downs Rugby management team), have developed a program to revise the pathway for In summary what we want to do is to bring player squads together at an early stage and systematically provide them with increasing and specific game skills while sustaining their fitness and interest by including regular complimentary social activities. In parallel to player development we also want to raise the skill levels of our Teenage Representative Coaches to enable them to pass on the required game skills. The program is being released to Clubs, Coaches and Schools this week please ensure you get a look at it and - if you have teenage players get them involved. The program kicks off on 19th October 2014!!! September 2014 Page 13

14 JUNIOR RUGBY Dalby Junior Carnival 6 th September 2014 On Saturday 6 th 2014 Dalby hosted the closing junior carnival. The day was a huge success with teams from all clubs taking part in their last hit out of the season. Dalby very cleverly made use of all the grounds in the vicinity including the AFL and Rugby League fields to ensure the day went without a hitch. All the games were played in the cheerful spirit of day and once again Dalby Rugby Union club showed off their expert organizing skills with all fields getting through the huge amount of games and finishing perfectly on time. (Under 9- Goondiwindi, Dalby, Souths and Bears played the curtain raiser for the 2014 Risdon Cup Grand Final) This carnival was the first time the under 11 s and 12 s had the results recorded over the day to come up with a grand final match. A big crowd of all ages stuck around to watch the number 1 ranked side from the two pools play each other on the main field to round out the afternoon. Both final matches saw Toowoomba Prep and Dalby Wheatmen go at it with some very high level rugby taking place. The concept was a huge hit and Toowoomba Prep won close affairs in both games. September 2014 Page 14

15 Volunteer of the Month Dan Spencer (Toowoomba Rangers President) I joined the Rangers Rugby club back in March 2006 as a player, after moving to Toowoomba from a stint in Sydney was a great season to join Rangers - we had a successful year both on and off the field, being lucky enough to win the A & B grade premierships. In early 2007, I incurred a major knee injury and was forced to watch from the sidelines. This resulted in a few years away from Toowoomba, playing the sport and Rangers. I returned to Toowoomba in 2012 and was fortunate enough to rejoin for another premiership playing with B- grade. As my playing days were numbered with several injuries, I wanted to continue to be involved with Rangers off the field and looked to give a bit back. I first joined the committee in 2013 and really enjoyed tackling some new challenges in contributing to the success of the club, but on a different playing field. This led to becoming the president for the 2014 season which has been a great experience and steep learning curve for me. It was amazing to be part of another winning premiership team with A grade bringing home Risdon Cup in the 50 th year of the competition. WHY TOOWOOMBA RANGERS? There is no real reason for joining Rangers other than meeting a few old Rangers player at friend s engagement party out at Roma in March After a few beers, they strongly recommended the club and had me sorted. The following Tuesday I hesitantly went down to Gold Park for my first training session as I was a bit dusty with the conversation I had the prior Saturday night. However, I was welcomed by a number of the players and old boys of the club and I haven t looked back since. WHY DO YOU LIKE VOLUNTEERING? I really enjoy volunteering my time at Rangers as I like to see the club continue its success on and off the field. We are lucky to have such a committed team which carry the club s long standing traditions and values and strive to continuously improve each year to ensure our sponsors, players and old boys are looked after all year round, not just during the season. During my playing days I didn t understand the efforts that were happening behind the scenes. DESCRIBE THE FEELING OF WINNING THIS YEARS RISDON CUP? Winning the Risdon Cup this year was amazing considering it was the 50 th year of the competition and the way we achieved it. All the way through the season we were competitive, however did not carry the class of teams like Goondiwindi and Dalby. We went down in a close encounter with Dalby in our first outing at Gold Park, however, from that game, it was clear we had a good squad if we could get everyone on the paddock at the same time. We had some luck toward the end of the season when our stars began to align and we were able to show the other sides what we were capable of as a team and as a club. As the competition is so strong, it is not often you have the honour of taking home the Risdon Cup so when it happens you need to treasure these moments. Having said that, I hope we can repeat the process next year DOWNS RUGBY OFFICE BEARERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS September 2014 Page 15

16 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 Danielle Bermingham and 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; OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS:- September 2014 Page 16

17 Unit 11, Anzac Central, 189 Anzac Avenue, Toowoomba Q 4350 P: (07) PO Box 1070, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350 OUR TEAM Chris Bell General Manager M: E: Chris.Bell@downsrugby.com.au Downs Rugby Ltd MITCHELL WINTER Rugby Operations Officer M: E: Rugby MITCHELL BRADBURY Club Development Officer M: E: JAMES O KEEFE Queensland Rugby Development Officer M: E: James.OKeefe@qru.com.au HAMISH TINDALL Downs Rugby Intern September 2014 Page 17