Downs Rugby Round Up 2015 Season Opening Edition

Downs Rugby Round Up 2015 Season Opening Edition Welcome to the Jan/Feb/Mar edition of the Downs Rugby Round Up for 2015 - Senior and Colts Representative Update - Teenage Representative Update - 2015 Goondiwindi Opening Junior Carnival - 2015 Teenage Season Half Way Recap - 2015 Risdon Cup Round 1 Preview - Sevens Rugby Update (Roma 7 s and Downs U15 Girls Comp) Event Calendar 11 th April 2015 Senior Risdon Cup - Round 1 14 th 15 th 16 th May 2015 South Queensland Championships Seniors and Colts (Gold Park) Vs Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast To promote your club events, please email your dates to bradburym@downsrugby.com.au OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS:- Unit 11, Anzac Central, 189 Anzac Avenue, Toowoomba Q 4350 P: (07) 4633 7733 PO Box 1070, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350 March 2015 Page 1

Senior & Colts Representative Update There has been a lot going on for our representative teams over the last couple of months! It all kicked off with a training camp that was held at Downlands College on the 21 st & 22 nd February. This training camp gave both our Senior Darling Downs side and our U19 s some extremely valuable time to get to train together before their first two games of the year. The idea of the camp was to get the skills and fitness back after a long off season and to get those familiar connections up and running again. The weather was not on our side with heavy rain and wind forcing the boys inside to work on ball skills and set piece. By mid afternoon the rain had cleared and the boys were finally given the opportunity to have a run outside, something that was sorely needed with a game coming up on the 14 th March in Rockhampton. The anticipation is high this year for both the seniors and U19 squads. An extended lead up and a mix of both experience and raw talent should see both teams match up very well against a strong Central QLD outfit. The senior squad will be having their final training run this weekend in Dalby on Saturday morning and barring no injuries will take a fully fit squad into the match. 2015 CATTLEMANS CUP Both the Seniors and Colts travelled up to Rockhampton on the 14 th March to take on Central Queensland for the 2015 Cattlemans Cup. The Colts took the field in their first hit out of the year; the boys gelled quickly and put on the pressure in the first five minutes. The game then became a bit of an arm wrestle with both teams struggling to break through the others defensive line. It was a nail-biting finish which saw the Darling Downs boys try and snatch a victory on the last play. The score ended up 10-13 to Central QLD. The Senior fixture was a highly anticipated encounter, with the majority of the squad from the 2014 New Zealand Tour named in the 23 man line up. The boys started well and finished well in a highly professional performance. The highlights can be found on our YouTube Channel (Downs Rugby). The result was a 23-10 victory for our seniors which meant the Darling Downs retained the Cattlemans Cup. March 2015 Page 2

2015 BORDER CUP Proudly Sponsored by Gessner Industries A week later the boys travelled to Moree to contest for the Border Cup against Central North NSW. First up were the colts which saw the Downs U19 boys versing CNSW U20 s. The Downs Colts seemed to relish the opportunity playing together again and took it out 32-7 in an impressive win. The Seniors again were looking to retain the Border Cup similar to the week before in Rockhampton. Again Darling Downs started very well and looked to take control of the match early. CNSW then fought back with physicality to try and slow the game down, this worked to an extent with Central North NSW getting within 3 points of the lead with around 10 minutes to go. Downs were able to control possession under pressure and take out the game20-17 to record their second away cup win of the year. In a positive move for the future Coach Rob Johnston used two U19 s off the bench, namely Dalby s John Moloney and UQ Gatton s Cameron Griffen. Both players stepped up and played vital roles in the win. The Downs Colts and Senior Rep sides are looking very promising coming up to the South Qld Champs in Toowoomba on May 15 th -16 th -17 th. March 2015 Page 3

Teenage Representative Update Sunday 1 st February and 8 th February saw the culmination of months of training come to a head with the Teenage Rep Trials getting underway in Dalby. It was great to see so many boys keen to make the travel and try and earn their spot in a Darling Downs jersey. From the 150+ players we had attend our training camps at the end of 2014 all were in attendance plus a few new faces; it s safe to say the future of Downs Rugby is looking bright! All age groups were split up at 9am and sent to their respective coaching staff. Each age group was given plenty of opportunity to showcase their talent with 3 x 20min games each week All in all it was a very successful morning with some great running rugby being played and no major injuries. All coaching staff involved was very pleased with the amount of talent that was present in each age group, fingers crossed for a very successful State Champs for all age groups in June this year at the Gold Coast! 25-30 man squads have been named for each age group (U12, U13, U14 & U16) and these squads will continue to train right up to the State Champs, with a couple of trial games in between to get the boys match fit! We thank everybody s support throughout this process as this has been a new system put in place by Downs Rugby this year. We will continue to further the development of our junior players in the region by providing more systems like this over the coming years. March 2015 Page 4

2015 Goondiwindi Opening Junior Carnival Proudly sponsored by Alpine Refrigeration Once again the junior rugby season was kicked off with the opening carnival in Goondiwindi. All teams and clubs were represented on the day from U6 right through to U12. It was great to see so many people turn out for the first major event on the junior calendar with parking proving quite difficult to come by so early on in the day! As always the Goondiwindi Junior club put on a well organised day with the BBQ in full service and numerous raffles being run throughout the day. We were blessed with some of the best weather of the past couple of months which allowed a lot of running rugby to be played. Every game of rugby was played in great spirit and the passion showed by all the young players is to be commended. Big thanks must go to ALPINE Refrigeration in Toowoomba for sponsoring the event! We are already looking forward to the next junior carnival that is being hosted by Toowoomba Bears and will be played at Downlands College on the 16 th May 2015. March 2015 Page 5

2015 Teenage Season Half Way Recap We are now half way through our Teenage season for 2015! It has been great to see so many well played games already so early on in the season. Each year we see the standard of football rise higher and higher which is a credit to all involved. Along with the high quality of play it has been great to see all of the games played in good spirits. In the Under 13 s, Souths have taken the number one position after putting together a string of great performances. They will need to continue their high level of play to hold off Highfields and USQ Saints who are only one or two wins away from taking the top spot. The Toowoomba Bears have been the standout team in the U14 so far, racking up some big wins along the way to their spot at the top of the table. With five games left it will be up to Goondiwindi & Highfields to see who will challenge for the top spot at the end of the regular season. The U15 competition has been highly competitive all year, with only 6 points separating the top 4 teams. Goondiwindi currently hold the top spot but will have to hold off USQ, Souths and Bears who are all one win away from the top spot themselves! This age group will be sure to provide some great games in the finals!! There has been one stand out team in the U16/17 competition so far USQ! Along the way to an undefeated start to the year they have amassed a points differential of +186 in only 6 games. Not to be ruled out are the Toowoomba Bears who have only dropped the one game so far. It will be interesting to see of USQ can maintain their momentum over the second half of the season or if Bears can make up some ground going in to the finals! A lot of skill and size has been on show in this age group, this is great news for the future of Downs Rugby. A lot of these boys will be vying for A grade spots over the next couple of years. The finals series will kick off on the weekend of the 29 th May. All the best to the boys over the next 6 weeks! March 2015 Page 6

2015 Risdon Cup Round 1 Preview Dalby Wheatmen v Toowoomba Rangers The first round of the Risdon Cup sees a Grand Final rematch between premiers Rangers and runners up Dalby. Dalby will be looking to exact immediate revenge on a Rangers squad that thoroughly outplayed them on the biggest game of the year. The game will also feature a very high number of Darling Downs representative players from the U19 & open squads. Both clubs also have some new faces in their A Grade squads and will be looking to get their 2015 campaigns off to a great start, a game not to miss. Condamine Cods v USQ Saints The Condamine B Grade team had their most successful year in 2015 and it is with this success we can expect there to be plenty of competition for spots in an always tough Condamine side. Just missing out on a finals berth last year Condamine will be eager to register their first home win of 2015 and get their year off to a good start. In their way stands USQ, another club that was on the brink of finals football last year. With a lot of old faces returning in 2015 expect USQ to play the expansive game of football that won them the competition in 2011. In recent times Condamine has had the edge on USQ and have an even stronger advantage when playing at home so expect USQ to come out firing in front of a loud Condamine home crowd. Goondiwindi Emus v Toowoomba Bears Two of the strongest and most successful clubs in the Risdon Cup over the past 10 years do battle in the first round of 2015. Goondiwindi and Bears have either been in or won the Grand Final 5 out of the last 7 years, facing each other twice in the big game over that same stretch of time. Goondiwindi are always tough to beat at home and expect them to get off to a strong start in 2015 after being bundled out of the finals last year in successive home games. Bears have a much younger squad than what they have had in years past but what they lack in experience they more than make up for in pure talent. An extremely quick backline and a massive forward pack will see them compete well again this year. Both teams were well represented in the Darling Downs team that retained both the Cattleman s & Border Cups over the last month. Roma Echidnas v UQ Gatton Black Pigs A big road trip is on the cards for the Black pigs of UQ Gatton for their first round clash against Roma. One of the hardest road trips of the year, along with a fresh Roma team that will be out to make a mends for a disappointing 2014 will make things very difficult for UQ to come away with a win to start their campaign. Both teams will be eager to throw the ball around and test each other s defense early in the hope of pulling away early. New additions to each squad for 2015 will also play a big factor in the game! Be sure to be at the Roma Rugby grounds at 1:30pm for the kickoff of B Grade and 3:00pm for A Grade. March 2015 Page 7

2015 Roma Sevens Carnival 2015 Darling Downs Sevens Rugby Update Once again on February 14 th we saw Roma host its annual 7 s competition. The field of 16 teams was the strongest yet and saw the return of defending champions Tribe 7 s. The large crowd in attendance was treated to a day full of running rugby. With all teams keen to keep the ball in hand a record number of tries were scored. Downs clubs Condamine, St. George, Roma & Toowoomba Bears all entered teams into the event and were quite successful on the day, with the highlight coming between a quarter final matchup between Condamine and St. George. Although all the Downs teams performed well on the day they weren t quite able to reach the final which was won convincingly by defending champs Tribe 7 s. A team full of young talent, they never looked troubled on the day winning most of their games by well over 30 points! A massive thank you must go to all the refs that volunteered their time to come out and make the day what it was, without you the day simply wouldn t be able to go ahead. And also to the Roma Rugby club for putting on another great day. Downs Girls 7 s Program Under 15 & Under 18 2015 has seen the introduction of a new Girls 7 s rugby program. The idea behind the program is to create a new tier of rugby to attract a larger amount of girls. In years gone by the only opportunity girls have had to play rugby has been at the representative level playing for Darling Downs. This new concept will attract girls from the districts of Dalby, Warwick & Toowoomba, with each area being represented by a squad of 15. Selection trials were held in each area with a very healthy number of girls in attendance. Every girl from each area was taken through the same trialing system to make sure everything was as fair as possible. The plan going forward is to have training sessions once a week and a game on the following Sunday. All selected girls will get the opportunity to play 6 games of rugby over a three week period. It is from what we see in these 6 games that will allow us to pick our Darling Downs squad that will go on to an intense 7 week training program that will coincide with various trips down to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast competing against some of the best talent QLD has to offer. March 2015 Page 8

2015 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 Danielle Bermingham and Barry O Sullivan. Brock Johnston (Chair), Doug McNicholl, Mick Gall, Dom O Connor and Joel Rickuss. Malcolm Hosking (Chair), Alex Sullivan, Owen Kleidon, Dwayne McLaren, Kylie Elisha, Jason Leslie 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. OUR TEAM MITCHELL WINTER General Manager M: 0409 328 783 E: winterm@downsrugby.com.au Downs Rugby Ltd MITCHELL BRADBURY Rugby Support Officer M: 0488 677 760 E: bradburym@downsrugby.com.au @Downs Rugby HAMISH TINDALL Downs Rugby Intern @downsrugby March 2015 Page 9

Downs are proudly sponsored by: Downs Rugby Senior/Colts Representative program proudly sponsored by; Downs Junior and Teenage Rugby proudly sponsored by March 2015 Page 10