Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Larry Dwyer (12)
How long can Subbies tolerate this from Blacktown? Though there’s nothing they can do as it will cripple Division 3 if they boot them.
Sydney Subbies 2025
- Thread starter Lindommer
- Start date
Cut One Wrap
Bob McCowan (2)
Gee did Newport lose all grades to Drummoyne today?
The Wombat
Sydney Middleton (9)
Very poor from Newport and Lindfield today
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
4/4 - a couple of blowouts and a couple of thrillers. Looking forward to watching back the Quins/Raptors game!
We were more competitive against Epping than I thought, despite losing another 4 players this morning due to mishap and illness. Pretty good effort to lose 2 games by a combined 4 points with 25+ missing. Hopefully the break lets us make a late charge, but it is all uphill from here for both grades from 6th spot.
But I've earned a week off... except for the Divisional meeting next week!
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Larry Dwyer (12)
Some interesting Club Championship tables now we are roughly 2/3 through the season.
Div 1- now a 3 horse race at the bottom between Lindfield, Newport and Drummoyne. They all play each other over the next two weeks so we should have a clearer picture before their run home against the big end of town.
Div 2- Will be tough now for UNSW to make up the 300 point difference. Does Petersham want to go back to Div 1?
Div 3- Hills should take this out even though they have 1 less team there still well ahead of Beecroft. Will they be penalised for no Colts? Beecroft right up there despite only 1 win outside of 1st Grade. Could end up with a Harbour situation here.
Div 4- The closest of all the divisions, Balmain and Wakehurst fighting it out. Could go either way pending 1s results.
Div 5- We could see a repeat of Div 2 if Valley pulls off the upset vs Redfield for double points. It’s Redfields to loose though I don’t think they will want to go to Div 3 any time soon. Valley could be the ones to bolster that comp with Redfields young squad to dominate thus division for a number of years.
Div 1- now a 3 horse race at the bottom between Lindfield, Newport and Drummoyne. They all play each other over the next two weeks so we should have a clearer picture before their run home against the big end of town.
Div 2- Will be tough now for UNSW to make up the 300 point difference. Does Petersham want to go back to Div 1?
Div 3- Hills should take this out even though they have 1 less team there still well ahead of Beecroft. Will they be penalised for no Colts? Beecroft right up there despite only 1 win outside of 1st Grade. Could end up with a Harbour situation here.
Div 4- The closest of all the divisions, Balmain and Wakehurst fighting it out. Could go either way pending 1s results.
Div 5- We could see a repeat of Div 2 if Valley pulls off the upset vs Redfield for double points. It’s Redfields to loose though I don’t think they will want to go to Div 3 any time soon. Valley could be the ones to bolster that comp with Redfields young squad to dominate thus division for a number of years.
footy_footy
Larry Dwyer (12)
Well done to Petersham. Pretty comprehensive in the end and now the favourite for Div 2 CC.
Were UNSW affected by Uni holidays at all (assuming there is still a large student contingent in the club).
The form of Lindfield and Newport highlights the growing gap between the top of Div 1 & Div 2. Newport & Lindfield were a cut above in their break out Div 2 years but now frequent sweeps against or 1 win days must be testing the motivation and resilience of coaches and players. Lindfields Kentwell cup run in 2024 now seems a distant memory.
Would UNSW or Petersham be capable of breaking this trend and really making a mark in Div 1? Is Div 1 better suited to 6 clubs?
Were UNSW affected by Uni holidays at all (assuming there is still a large student contingent in the club).
The form of Lindfield and Newport highlights the growing gap between the top of Div 1 & Div 2. Newport & Lindfield were a cut above in their break out Div 2 years but now frequent sweeps against or 1 win days must be testing the motivation and resilience of coaches and players. Lindfields Kentwell cup run in 2024 now seems a distant memory.
Would UNSW or Petersham be capable of breaking this trend and really making a mark in Div 1? Is Div 1 better suited to 6 clubs?
footy_footy
Larry Dwyer (12)
Can anyone stop the Hunters Hill kentwell cup juggernaut? Unbelievable attacking strength noting up another 50+ shoreline v good opposition
EddieJones1985
Stan Wickham (3)
Themselves, just like the last three years.
Heavyd
John Solomon (38)
The Challenge is the teams that get you to DIV 1 aren’t necessarily around when you get there.
Numberthree
Stan Wickham (3)
Can't imagine Petersham would turn it down but not sure subbies want them back. There were discipline issues as recently as last year, plus historical politics. Having said that, I'm told they have been working hard on cultural change and it seems to be bearing fruit. Depth was an issue at the start of the year but the top 4 grades now look OK, it's just 4s that are struggling. Numbers look ok as well, they ran a 5s yesterday.
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Larry Dwyer (12)
I’ve said before the question is what happens if Drummoynes bad run isn’t just a one off. Who fills the gap then?
If 14 rounds is the desired season length. 6 team comp means your at 15. If Drummoyne drop out then you’re looking at a 12 round comp or 15 with 3 byes on top of the weeks off…
Does UNSW, Petersham, Lindfield, Newport see a drop in players cause there isn’t the game time for everyone.
In every comp someone has to be at the bottom. It’s shit and no one likes it but without them you don’t have a comp. Once they go it doesn’t matter how big and strong your top 3/4 teams are if they don’t have anyone to play.
The gulf in Subbies has been widening since COVID. The majority of teams in Subbies only run 2-3 teams. We slowly are seeing the death of big clubs. The number of guys who want to be at the ground all day every Saturday is dropping drastically.
And the subbies board have no one to blame except themselves.
Here To Do
Sydney Middleton (9)
We currently have 14 clubs in the top 2 divisions - is there an argument that we may be heading to 7 and 7? Still 14 round seasons (BYE becomes the 8th team in each comp) - maybe those teams v the bye could play friendlies that week (maybe for Cowboy points?)
Numberthree
Stan Wickham (3)
Everyone plays each other twice and we are down to 12 games? Seriously entering "why would you bother?" territory, if we aren't already there....
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Larry Dwyer (12)
I think bigger divisions are better at the moment. Yes you loose the Home and Away nature of the comp. (Maybe could do home one year away the next).
Bigger comp means more teams on clubs level. Instead of playing 3 games against a dominant team 1, you play them once and have more games against teams on your level.
The Waverley Walrus
Stan Wickham (3)
Here To Do
Sydney Middleton (9)
I'd love to know your solution - unfortunately the top end of town is thinning out and unless something changes will likely get thinner and thinner.
Clubs are lacking depth - we could very easily get competitive 2 grades and Colts competitions down to at least Div 4, but when a few clubs are fielding 5 or 6 (or more) grades and others can only field 3 in the top 2 flights, there's a problem.
There's very little stability ATM - Iggies were very strong in 2021 and are now merged, Hills, Epping and Beecroft have slid down and while it's great that Irish are now Div 2, they're only able to do so with the help of Waverley having big numbers and Burraneer Colts.
Things may be great for most in Div 1 but it wasn't that long ago that the likes of Redfield, Knox and Balmain were on the cover of the annual report. If Drummoyne are struggling, who's next?
What if we end up in a situation where only, say, 5 clubs have 4ths or 5ths in any division of Subbies, where the next best is 3 at most?
You can absolutely run a Shute-like season but how do you determine who plays twice and who plays once, especially if clubs go up and down between seasons? It's hard enough for clubs that lose home games as it is or, in Div 2, play 2 away games and don't host that club due to weather.
Numberthree
Stan Wickham (3)
I just feel like we're trying to rebuild a competition on the backs of people who are half-hearted about rugby. The guys you want to build on are the guys who want to play week in, week out, not the ones who want every 3rd week off so they can go to the snow. Hell my 6yo plays 18 games of soccer and complains when they have a bye for the June long weekend, now we're talking about 12 game subbies seasons? It's crazy. We go down the pathway of less games thinking it will attract more players, when it doesn't we double down. At some point we accept it didn't work, or we wither away and die. Pretty sure it will be the latter because when you raise this issue all you get back from the powers is sarcasm.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
I don't think there is any area of the game that isn't suffering. And while we're not the only ones, we've got the lowest numbers to play with out of the "big" winter codes.
- Premier Rugby has several clubs that aren't coming close to fulfilling their quotas
- Subbies clubs running out of players and volunteers
- Junior clubs rising and fading on the back of individiual parents who commit the time
- Schools comps that are much smaller than they were
- a referee pool that is either aging or overworked. Sometimes both.
You say "half-hearted". I say "weary".
I love the enthusiasm your 6yo has about their sport (I remember entire summers where a bat or ball was never far from my hand, even on the farm). I'm sure a lot of people feel the same but have to juggle their life as well, including giving up their own sport because they're supporting their kids as they should.
There does seem to be a shift in what the average "rugby person" can contribute, first and foremost.
With 4 rounds to go and some off-field stuff of my own to deal with, I won't be heartbroken if we don't make finals.
I've been trying to keep a club running for nearly 9 years and it isn't getting easier.