Hunter Rugby

[wamberal99]

I lived next door to a young family when I first moved to Newcastle. Their stepfather wanted the two boys to play league, I talked him into giving them a go in rugby. This was 1999. The younger is still playing lower grades for Southern Beaches. I look forward to the day when his son plays there as well! The older son played a lot of rugby too, but has had to retire.

 

[HogansHeros]

Awesome to see a few more clubs starting up, hopefully sees an increase in overall numbers, not just thinning numbers out elsewhere.

 

[schmidt it in]

So here starts the rumours of what Hunter Rugby could possibly look like next season.

Hunter Rugby have begun to push for feedback on their competition structure, if anyone is unfamiliar that includes:
- 1st Grade (6 teams)
- 2nd Grade (6 teams)
- 3rd Grade (6 teams)
- 4th Grade (9 teams)
- Suburban (9 teams)
- Womens XV (8 teams)

There is currently speculation that Hunter Rugby may abolish the requirement for 3 grades to be apart of the Premier competitions (1st-3rd grade).

Now I am not sure how the structure would work, but there are clubs that are now pushing 5 men's teams. University had 5 men's grades in 2022 (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4ths and Suburban) and are looking to field a 5th grade again next year due to high player registrations, Maitland fielded 5 grades this year (1st, 2nd, 3rds and 2 x 4th grade) and would be looking to do so again next year.

You also have the growth of Suburban teams. Cooks Hill fielded 1 men's grade a few years ago and now field 2 with growing registrations, who knows if they will but they could push for a 3rd grade. Scone have posted about fielding 2 grades next year as well.

Looking at old competition layouts like 2008 for example you had:
- Premier 1
- Premier 2
- Premier Colts
- First Division A Grade
- First Division B Grade
- Second Division

I am unsure how it would all work, but I am very interested to see what happens.

A possible draft structure:

Wildfires:
- 1st Grade Mens
- 2nd Grade Mens
- 1st Grade Womens
- 2nd Grade Womens
- 1st Colts
- 2nd Colts

Premier 1:
1. Maitland
2. Merewether
3. Hamilton
4. Wanderers
5. University
6. Southern Beaches
7. Singleton
8. Scone

Premier 2:
1. Maitland
2. Merewether
3. Hamilton
4. Wanderers
5. University
6. Southern Beaches
7. Singleton
8. Scone

Suburban A Grade:
1. Maitland (their old 3rd grade side)
2. Merewether (their old 3rd grade side)
3. Hamilton (their old 3rd grade side)
4. Wanderers (their old 3rd grade side)
5. University (their old 3rd grade side)
6. Southern Beaches (their old 3rd grade side)
7. Cooks Hill A Grade
8. Nelson Bay

Suburban B Grade:
1. Muswellbrook
2. Cooks Hill B Grade
3. Medowie
4. Griffins
5. Maitland
6. University
7. Wanderers
8. Merewether
9. Singleton Army
10. Pokolbin

Social Grade:
1. Medowie
2. Southern Beaches
3. Maitland
4. University
5. Merewether

Womens XV:
1. Hamilton
2. Maitland
3. Merewether
4. Wanderers
5. Univeristy
6. Nelson Bay
7. Cooks Hill
8. Scone

Interested to see peoples thoughts.
One point of discussion I hear alot is the change in 4th grade in the last few years, going from social competition to a feeder for Premier clubs with players fighting for positions. You have clubs like Maitland, University and Merewether who are a higher level compared to some other clubs who are purely playing for social reasons. A restructure like this allows that social competition to be a social competition, and the premier clubs can put teams in Premier (1sts and 2nds) and Suburban (A and B grade) and a social team if they have the numbers for 5 grades.

 

[HogansHeros]

One thing that comes to mind straight away is schedueling. When one of the suburban clubs is hosting a home game, then the lower grades of the prem clubs will be playing away from the rest of their club. Not the end of the world, but takes away from the festival atmosphere and ability for players to back up.

 

[Propsruntheworld]

Do singleton and scone have the depth and player quality to make the jump up to premier 1 and 2?