The ultimate ressie
Chris McKivat (8)
Perfect time for a bus trip by the sounds of it
Sydney Subbies 2025
- Thread starter Lindommer
- Start date
footy_footy
Ted Fahey (11)
unsure of the result v Quins but certainly would not be writing UNSW off. I think they start favourites at David Phillips this week!
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Correct. Subbies need to plan finals venues for multiple divisions, and come September compete with SRU and others for some of those facilities.
Moving Kentwell Cup Day gives it primacy and you don't want Shut Shield GF day at that time.
Div 5 Round 1 Predictions
I don’t know about you guys but I for one and foaming at the mouth for footy to be back this week. Good luck to all teams for the season ahead.
Canterbury v Western Raptors
Grose cup final rematch to kick off the year and there’ll be plenty of scary units running around in this one. Earlier reports suggest blatant stacking by Canterbury again this year. They’ll win in 2’s comfortably however I’ll back Raptors to get the job done in 1’s and get their season rolling.
Hawkesbury Valley v Sydney Harlequins
Game of the round for me here. Two former Div 3 teams doing battle and will both be keen to get their season started on the right foot. Quins hate an early season road trip so give me Valley to win both grades.
Maccabi/Convicts v Epping
I’ve got verified reports that off the field has been an absolute shambles at Epping this preseason. We’ll see if this affects their on field performance this year as on paper they should be strong contenders. Don’t know much of what to expect from Maccabi and Convicts this year. Despite the long trip, give me Epping in both grades.
Redfield v Renegades
Both clubs look pretty red hot this year so expect this to be a great game. I’ll take the size of renegades to get them over the line at Redfield in both grades.
I don’t know about you guys but I for one and foaming at the mouth for footy to be back this week. Good luck to all teams for the season ahead.
Canterbury v Western Raptors
Grose cup final rematch to kick off the year and there’ll be plenty of scary units running around in this one. Earlier reports suggest blatant stacking by Canterbury again this year. They’ll win in 2’s comfortably however I’ll back Raptors to get the job done in 1’s and get their season rolling.
Hawkesbury Valley v Sydney Harlequins
Game of the round for me here. Two former Div 3 teams doing battle and will both be keen to get their season started on the right foot. Quins hate an early season road trip so give me Valley to win both grades.
Maccabi/Convicts v Epping
I’ve got verified reports that off the field has been an absolute shambles at Epping this preseason. We’ll see if this affects their on field performance this year as on paper they should be strong contenders. Don’t know much of what to expect from Maccabi and Convicts this year. Despite the long trip, give me Epping in both grades.
Redfield v Renegades
Both clubs look pretty red hot this year so expect this to be a great game. I’ll take the size of renegades to get them over the line at Redfield in both grades.
CrashBandicoot2
Frank Nicholson (4)
Long since past Colts age. Just unavailable this weekend. Awaiting someone to respond.
Will hopefully go watch a few local games instead - Probably better!
CrashBandicoot2
Frank Nicholson (4)
Rumours of 5-6 retirements out of Epping's 2nd grade squad as well as a coach retirement based off socials.
Propsruntheworld
Bob McCowan (2)
Switching clubs during preseason/early season, good luck. Club admins have enough on their hands let alone worry about players defecting.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Should be a good game. Our trial match was pretty much our forwards vs their backs, but both sides were missing a few.
We're still down a few guys - weddings in rugby season
- and have put together what I consider a couple of decent teams. Might be able to stretch to a Halligan Cup game after Easter!
Ozzie Bob
Charlie Fox (21)
Just noticed that Hills are not competing in Colts this year. Replaced by Colleagues 2.
Also a shame that my club Old Barker cannot get a 2nds team on the park this weekend. If they aren't getting the numbers for Knox at home in the 1st round it certainly wont be happening for the rest of the year. Glad they have colts again this year and a women team. Definitely shows the change in demographics at the school and less rugby teams. The problem is only going to get worse in coming years.
Also a shame that my club Old Barker cannot get a 2nds team on the park this weekend. If they aren't getting the numbers for Knox at home in the 1st round it certainly wont be happening for the rest of the year. Glad they have colts again this year and a women team. Definitely shows the change in demographics at the school and less rugby teams. The problem is only going to get worse in coming years.
parkfootyenthusiast2
Sydney Middleton (9)
Anecdotally, I'm told Gordon has been turning Colts away this year, having filled the 3 requisite teams and more than extensive benches for each. The worry the club has is that they will lose these guys from the game all together, not to Subbies.
It's baffling to me that they don't link up with certain local subbies clubs like Chatswood, St Ives etc, let them call themselves the Chatswood-Gordon Highlanders and see if they can keep a core group of them playing together so the game doesn't lose them. Could have them still train with Gordon, promotion/relegation between the teams/clubs so they still feel attached to the club they went to etc
I don't see how that doesn't so easily kill two birds with one stone.
It's baffling to me that they don't link up with certain local subbies clubs like Chatswood, St Ives etc, let them call themselves the Chatswood-Gordon Highlanders and see if they can keep a core group of them playing together so the game doesn't lose them. Could have them still train with Gordon, promotion/relegation between the teams/clubs so they still feel attached to the club they went to etc
I don't see how that doesn't so easily kill two birds with one stone.
KentwellCup>ShuteShield
Johnnie Wallace (23)
This is why we need Pftizys alignment plan.
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Chris McKivat (8)
Insert Pfitzys posts about Allignment here.
It’s one of the biggest misconceptions in rugby that if a player is turned away from a club he will end up heading to another local
Club. They simply don’t and sometimes you don’t see them again. Add to the fact that clubs (both Shute and Subbies) don’t usually care when they’ve hit there required numbers.
Only Easts have shown an interest in pushing guys into Subbies and look how successful they’ve been recently. As you say it’s crazy more clubs don’t do it.
sterlingmortlocksgloves
Sydney Middleton (9)
This statement is not entirely true. Gordon has had a great partnership with Subbies clubs in recent years, with in 2020 sending their 4th colts to filter into the St Ives colts program during the season. Last year this was continued with Gordon sending colts players that weren't listed for Shute Shield saturdays to Lindfield to filter into the colts and lower grade sides. It is to note that with an increasing number of Shute Shield teams fielding more than the 3 colts sides (there was a small competition last year for 4th colts believe there were 6 sides competing) it only becomes feasible when they are up against clubs who aren't as strong (notably Two Blues who are only running 2 colts sides this year).
parkfootyenthusiast2
Sydney Middleton (9)
Good to hear, thanks for sharing that.
So those clubs are realistically sending their 5ths colts out into the landscape? I know Uni sent a relatively substandard outfit into the Div 3 Colts comp two years ago, the Easts guys were heavyweights last year and the year prior in that comp, and Gordon feeding some spares into Lindfield.
Any others? Who are the other 3 clubs with 4 colts sides?
MasterSergeant
Bob McCowan (2)
2 out of 12 sides barely scrapes over 15%…. Are we saying 15% of the premier clubs are prepared to contribute to Subbies through the referral of excess colts and the rest couldn’t be bothered… no wonder the house is in trouble.
footy_footy
Ted Fahey (11)
In fairness not all Shute clubs have the luxury of excess colts. Unsure how Manly & Warringah go but don't think Parra, Wests, Souths, Eastwood are "warehousing"
Seems to be a few clubs that might be able to help out
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Chris McKivat (8)
Gordon still have 18 grade players as fresh subs across the grades plus a full 5th Grade and 19 colts subs.
That’s definitely warehousing players. Given that there isn’t a regular 5s comp they could almost run there own Div 4 club or boost a club up to Div 3 or 2 and strengthen those divisions who are a struggling side away from being not viable
That’s definitely warehousing players. Given that there isn’t a regular 5s comp they could almost run there own Div 4 club or boost a club up to Div 3 or 2 and strengthen those divisions who are a struggling side away from being not viable
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Because you can see both the forest AND the trees, you clever bean
I'm informed (reliably) that Chatswood have good Colts numbers already.
If Premier Rugby is going to continue this farce of having 3 Colts sides and THEN discarding extra, then it is time the competition was more highly codified into an U19 comp for Colts 3 and U20 for the top 2.
It wouldn't shock me to learn that some of those Gordon Colts live near me here in the northwest and took that path over Eastwood.
I've given up trying to understand it.
C'est la vie
Odyssey_Park the 2nd
Chris McKivat (8)
I think what everyone wants is a better set up so that when a Shute club has these excess players they don’t invent an extra competition for them to play in or just turn them away. They interact with there local clubs and actively push players there.
We all know it’s how the club promotes this sort of arrangement as to how successful it is
parkfootyenthusiast2
Sydney Middleton (9)
Yeah I'd say nobody expects these clubs to actively keep their local clubs afloat, but some sort of relationship would do nothing but help when SOME of the clubs are actively turning blokes away who will likely just leave the game to pursue other things on Saturdays... women, beers, Call of Duty now Verdansk is back etc.
Probably more so exceptions than rules but plenty of Subbies clubs have let/encouraged (or in some cases lost) fantastic talent to make the jump to Shute Shield, from the top of my head, Richard Woolf and Ezra Luxton both played subbies (Knox) before moving to Norths/Easts and having long careers in first grade and the NRC, Charlie Gamble famously plied his trade with Petersham before landing with Easts and the Tahs.
Historians can go further back to Semi Qatavi in 1999. Some of these clubs might also find a diamond in the rough or two so it's not all one way traffic.
Probably more so exceptions than rules but plenty of Subbies clubs have let/encouraged (or in some cases lost) fantastic talent to make the jump to Shute Shield, from the top of my head, Richard Woolf and Ezra Luxton both played subbies (Knox) before moving to Norths/Easts and having long careers in first grade and the NRC, Charlie Gamble famously plied his trade with Petersham before landing with Easts and the Tahs.
Historians can go further back to Semi Qatavi in 1999. Some of these clubs might also find a diamond in the rough or two so it's not all one way traffic.