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Queensland Junior Rugby

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I

iceman

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Hi Iceman,

Yes, we were hoping for an opportunity like this and have been asked to play in the Grading Games. I haven't received word back if this means we are actually in the competition yet or if we have just been given an chance to trial and they'll decided based on our performance. Which is fair enough.

It's very exciting and all the boys are pumped. We played our first Grading Game on Sunday against Souths (Black). Nervous start but finished well in the second half. Myself, the boys, parents and coach loved the level of competition.

I'm currently uploading the highlights to youtube as we speak and they'll be ready tomorrow morning, so I'll post the link. It was a great game, which always makes for good highlights :)

Stay tuned!!

That's a great result I believe that Souths team went through the BJRU comp unbeaten in 2014 (I may be wrong!)... I do believe that some clubs use grading games as a trial match...nonetheless thats impressive...
There will be some strong teams in this age group, Riverside had a big win on the weekend and have a monster of a forward pack... and Ipswich look like they had a good win at Sunnybank...
East look strong in the 14s with a good win on the weekend and in the 15s I would be surprised if anyone got close to the top Sunnybank team
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
That's a great result I believe that Souths team went through the BJRU comp unbeaten in 2014 (I may be wrong!). I do believe that some clubs use grading games as a trial match.nonetheless thats impressive.
There will be some strong teams in this age group, Riverside had a big win on the weekend and have a monster of a forward pack. and Ipswich look like they had a good win at Sunnybank.
East look strong in the 14s with a good win on the weekend and in the 15s I would be surprised if anyone got close to the top Sunnybank team
Yeah, we heard that about Souths successful season last year (and had a sneak peak at their youtube videos. I believe they did the same with us). I don't think they were taking our team lightly out there but only they would know. Regardless, it's great to have good competition. I also noticed that Ipswich had a good win over Sunnybank. It will be interesting to see which teams are matched up over the next couple weeks.

In the mean time; feel free to view my highlights of our team against Souths.

 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
Looks like you've had some good match ups so far Tashara

Would be interested to know your thoughts as to where you saw the strengths in the teams you've come up against so far
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
Looks like you've had some good match ups so far Tashara

Would be interested to know your thoughts as to where you saw the strengths in the teams you've come up against so far
Hi Gary,
Yes we were told before the gradings that we would be put against some of the best teams because they wanted to see if we would be competitive in the Brisbane comp before they allowed us in.

Interesting hit-out first up against Souths. I think both teams were finding their feet in the first half - after all, it was the first game of the season and both teams found it hard to string phases together, but that's only natural at this stage.

Souths had us at the breakdown. They were really committed to getting players there fast and really punished Nerang with that speed. I honestly think it was a wake up call for our forwards as they weren't use to this pace in the GC comp.

Having said that, Nerang forwards looked better with the ball in hand and were able to cross the advantage line much easier than Souths. I think Souths struggled across the park with making ground and relied on penalties and blind side play to make metres. Souths half back was also all over our 9 and put a great deal of pressure on him which resulted in some good turn over for the black and white.

Second half really opened up for Nerang. They started to move the ball out wider and were able to string phases together which makes them really dangerous. I have a feeling Souths were told not to go wide because they were significantly beaten out there and working blind seemed to work better. Their number 9 is a very classy player and can and will sneak through when there is even the slightest of opportunities.

I'm not sure how Souths felt after that game, but they definitely didn't make it easy for us and full credit to their forwards around the breakdown.

Riverside: Interesting game this one in the wet heavy conditions. They have a massive pack where all eight players and reserve forwards know how to play. I noticed a player in this team who played for Sunnybank last year and I've been told (although not confirmed) that a number of players did move from Sunnybank to join RVS - but I'm sure someone else knows more about that than me.

But what I can say is that this team looks like a full rep team. Very few weaknesses on or off the bench. Clever coach kept a full subs bench rotating in the heavy conditions and I'm also sure he noticed that we only had one reserve. Unfortunately we had two front rowers missing and it really showed in our scrums. RVS totally dominated our scrum and won a bunch of tight heads in a row which saw them score their try.

It was a hard match to really put into perspective for later games as it tended to be forwards bash-out and RVS simply had the depth to win that battle on the day. With the RVS forwards going forward, RVS were also able to brake the line in and around the 10 and 12 zones with some good footwork.

Going out wide wasn't the order of they day. We very rarely chose that option but looked dangerous on the few times we did (a couple of sticky hands lost us some good attacking opportunities). And RVS meet some solid hits by Nerang 13 when they tried to do the same.

RVS had the greater possession and their forwards were awesome. By the end of the game our big boys could barely walk let alone run and we unfortunately had a few in there that are not up to this level of rugby - so not a good day for them (but full credit to RVS).

I would be very mindful of the speed out wide with RVS. Their 13 is super quick. I saw him at the State Champs last year for Brisbane Yellow and had a bunch of Ice Watches up his forearm from receiving MoM so many times. He loves the outside - and I mean loves it. Our 13 knew this and wasn't going to give it to him. So that will be a very strong attacking option for them, they just didn't get it to work on this day - not only due the heavy conditions but also thanks to Nerang 13 who was aggressive in defense and seemed to be minding both their 12 and 13.

So basically RVS can win it in the forwards and then also have options to attack with their 10 and 12 or go wide to their speedster. I haven't seen all the teams this year but this in my mind will be the team to beat. They have size, depth and speed.

Ipswich:
Ippy were coming off two good wins so we knew they were going to be good. We also knew our boys have learn't so much from the first two games and our forwards really had to pick up their speed to the breakdown and not just rely on 3 or 4 players to do all the work. Our deadly backline was also demanding more ball - we haven't seen much of it yet but that was about to change going into this game (which turned out to be a 7 to 2 try victory).

Ipswich have an extremely fast #8. In fact I'm sure he played on the wing for Met West in the Schools State Champs last year. He's fast and has great agility. Scored both their trys, one from a scrum and one from a quick tap. I think both from about 30-40m out from our try line. A very good player - not overly big but is tough, fast and elusive.

Poor Ipswich though. It was just bad luck that we had a point to prove this game and it was all about attacking options. Forwards played better (but then again they didn't have the RVS forwards smashing them) and this gave the backs front foot ball - it was basically good night from there. I think Ipswich will also learn a lot from this game - in particular their backs just seemed reluctant to move up. I don't blame them as Nerang 10 got his game back which then meant that 13 was able to get ball in hand and go on to score 3 trys.

I think Ipswich were a bit in shock but they never gave up. They definitely looked to slow the game down once it got away from them. It was pretty hard for Ipswich to get across the advantage line due to some good defense which lead to some panic and bad choices. But Ipswich are a better team than how they played on that day, but as I said; they just happened to meet a pumped up Bulls team on the day. Oh, I will say that Ipswich had a very good line out - some typical 'not straight' throws at this age group, but they have more options than the simple 'throw it to the second player' mode.

All in all, each game was completely different to the other. So it says a lot about how different each of these teams are. I'm really looking forward to playing the remaining teams throughout the season and also meeting up against the three we have already played.

I was planning on doing some more highlights of these games but things got held up a bit. There was some talk that I wasn't to post anymore highlights due to privacy issues. This has since been dismissed and the coach is very mindful of not wanting to give to much away about our team. It does give other teams somewhat of an advantage to visually see parts of our game and structure (and our opposition may not like me advertising them either).

I have many options when I do my highlights.

1. One option is to put together an unbiased game review highlights reel.
2. Continue to do our Bulls highlights of all the cool stuff we did (which is what I have been doing for years). or
3. A modified version where I am mindful of not showing too much in the way that could give other teams that advantage e.g. lots of slow-mo close up footage and individual skills etc - which wouldn't give away the team structure.

But I'm very interested in hearing what other teams think about it. My intention is to never offend or upset anybody and sometimes this can happen unintentionally.

I remember the 1st XV GPS highlights were stopped a couple of years ago because teams felt that it gave the other teams a distinct advantage. But this isn't 1st XV.. but it is still pretty serious business out there ladies and gentlemen :)

Anyway, I hope I haven't crossed any lines by posting the above information and just hope to promote our rugby as I love it as well. We can't wait to play this year in Brisbane and feel very privileged to be allowed to do so.

Cheers
Tim
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
No lines crossed .

Great summation . Thanks.

Sunnybank do seem to have lost a few players this year with Easts picking up a player or two ( their 8 in particular ) and Riverside also picking up their 13 and perhaps some others that played Met East last year.

Riverside seems to be very Met East / State High centric and they seem to be very purposefully constructed . Easts too seem to have a few of last year's Met East team running around and they should be near the top of the table

Logan , who won last year's Div 2 comp , have had a tough time of it through the trials

7 of the 8 teams should really be automatic but the 8th team in will be interesting - no return from Wynnum or Kenmore , both of whom played Div 1 last year .

It should be a pretty strong competitive Division
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
Okay, interesting.

I only had some clues as to who was in last year's Div 1 and we tried to predict who would be in it this year based on the grading results, so any information is great at the moment.

Based on the results we thought the following teams in no particular order:

  • Nerang
  • Souths
  • Easts
  • RVS
  • Brothers
  • Sunnybank
  • Ipswich
  • GPS
But that was only our guess. And you're right; it looks like a very tough year ahead as the results suggest that there are some very good teams across the board.

We were hoping to get up and watch the Souths v East game in game 2 but unfortunately couldn't get there. But I thought that would have been a good one. Brothers look strong as well. What was the end table like last year. Our only information is that Souths went through undefeated and probably Easts next??
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
Last year I believe the final wash up was :

Souths
Easts
GPS
Brothers /Riverside/Ipswich
Kenmore
Wynnum

Even though it's only trials but Souths may have the "Prior Premiers Curse"...I can understand losing to you guys , the Easts game only had a conversion in it , but losing to Sunnybank ( especially considering what they've lost and also that Ipswich accounted for them easily in the 1st round was interesting )

Kenmore won the prior year in U11 , started off last season strong , and then folded badly toward the end of the first round and basically didn't do anything in the 2nd round. Kenmore , in fact , drew with Souths at the start of the 1st round ( The BJRU selection round at Easts last year - they were pitted against each other as the supposed two top teams at the start of the season )
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
Okay, thanks... interesting.

I agree; the conversion difference between Easts just meant the teams were close. And it also looks like the Sunnybank game was 2 trys a piece and Souths lost on conversions again. But as you say; it's only trials.

Having watched some of Souths games on youtube from last year, it's interesting to see which boys have grown more within each team. I always believe every year is a new year but I like to hear the history and the rivalries between teams etc. We had our own on the GC and it was amazing the bs that went on behind the scenes - even the hysteria that arose about us leaving the GC comp to play in brissy.

Yeah, that's interesting about the Western suburbs. I worked at Park Ridge SHS last year and was surprised that they played AFL and the kids I spoke to had no rugby interest (league if anything other than AFL). Oh well, at least there is still good depth in the other clubs. It is definitely a problem on the GC and even within our own team - we just don't have the numbers. We have personally gone on a big recruiting push within the boys schools and hope to try and convert some league players due to the lack of forwards we have. But it's not working.

We even went down to the boys 'inter-school' rugby league carnival and all that happened was that teachers and coaches from other schools tried to get our boys to go to their school to play league.. pfft not on my watch lol

Well, I just hope it's a good even season - we're just excited that we aren't turning up to easy games each week. Win, lose or draw; we're happy for the competition. And now we'll have a better idea who the players are come State Champs time. Although the GC will never be that competitive again since they decided to have 2 'even' teams representing them. There just isn't the depth there to do that - but their motives are for other reasons which I understand.
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
Tashara do I understand correctly that the Bulls boys who get selected for State Champs will fall into GCJRU , and hence , possible Country selection ?
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
Also ..are the majority of the boys dual Rugby / League boys or are they all pretty much wired into Rugby .

If players are "dual" ....I think U13 is an age where its hard to pursue both junior development pathways especially when you take school sports into account (assuming they are playing Rugby or League at school as well
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
Correct: Bulls will play for GC Cyclones and Country if selected. They have already started a squad and had a fitness assessment yesterday - measuring the fastest and fittest (beep tests etc). Not surprisingly two of the Bulls players topped the tests amongst the 60 odd that were there.

Good question re: GPS. There are currently no players attending GPS schools (TSS being the obvious one). I know personally that those top two players earlier mentioned would love to attend a GPS school and are hoping that one day an offer will come their way. I haven't had that discussion with any of the others boys parents though.
 

Tashara

Larry Dwyer (12)
All are 100
Also ..are the majority of the boys dual Rugby / League boys or are they all pretty much wired into Rugby .

If players are "dual" ..I think U13 is an age where its hard to pursue both junior development pathways especially when you take school sports into account (assuming they are playing Rugby or League at school as well
All play rugby only. The inter school league carnival I mentioned earlier was just a once off. Many of the boys attend state high schools and there is no rugby. Three are at Pacific Pines for the rugby program there, but that doesn't start until Year 9. But the state schools just had a friendly inter school carnival.

All have played union from day one, except for our new beast Hooker who came across from league this year. Very raw, doesn't know the rules but loves smashing people - we had to tell though that he's not allowed to fend people in the face lol

But I agree, they have to start focusing on one sport. My son plays rep basketball in the summer and has the State Champs to attend this coming week. It's a real pain and as he's over basketball the moment rugby started. So this will be his last season playing basketball. Each year requires more demands and he's more than happy just to focus on the one he loves playing the most.

We have another boy who plays basketball as well, but he's going to be doing the opposite next year and leave rugby to focus on his basketball. But you are right, the demands are just getting to great from here on.
 
R

Rugby Spirit

Guest
I have always found the 13 age group one of the most enjoyable to watch as boys get graded and the rugby from 12 to 13 steps up in quality and intensity. I know some of the boys in this age group in Brisbane through my association with various schools.
Riverside have been together since November last year and have picked up new players from Wynnum Sunnybank and Brothers so that would explain Wynnums situations this year. Riverside look to be strong contenders.
East look to be a bit of the unknown this year they did well to finish second last year with an ungraded team but its a completely new team this year and I heard they still hadn't finalised their division one team and were using grading games as trials sitting out many of their definite starters to view other boys
Sunnybank is one of the BIG clubs in Brisbane with a usually strong polynesian influence - They are always well coached and will be competitive they always are - They took an average 13 team last year to the Grand final, they have a good program.
Geeps is another strong junior club and have size and pace in backs and technially very good in the forwards, well coached they have picked up boys from Kenmore which explains Kenmores situation....

Should be some quality rugby in this age group.
 
I

iceman

Guest
Last year I believe the final wash up was :

Souths
Easts
GPS
Brothers /Riverside/Ipswich
Kenmore
Wynnum

Even though it's only trials but Souths may have the "Prior Premiers Curse".I can understand losing to you guys , the Easts game only had a conversion in it , but losing to Sunnybank ( especially considering what they've lost and also that Ipswich accounted for them easily in the 1st round was interesting )

Kenmore won the prior year in U11 , started off last season strong , and then folded badly toward the end of the first round and basically didn't do anything in the 2nd round. Kenmore , in fact , drew with Souths at the start of the 1st round ( The BJRU selection round at Easts last year - they were pitted against each other as the supposed two top teams at the start of the season )

It's a shame that Rugby in the Western Suburbs can't get their act together and take a broader catchment view instead of all the tribal pettiness from all 3 clubs within cooee of each other ( Wests, Kenmore and Taylor Bridge ) that hits the age groups probably from U11 upwards when further development really starts to kick in and commence importance .

The consequence of all of this is that there is no Div 1 Team from the Western Suburbs catchment playing in the U13 BJRU Comp

And ( historically ) Wests wonder why better players who played Junior there go off and play for Uni or Jeeps

This looks about right, but doesn't really tell the story of a lopsided division Souths went through unbeaten for 1st place and the only team East lost to all year was Souths(Twice) for 2nd place, however everyone else in the division lost to East twice and Souths twice and then to each other.
So I expect that each team will have boosted their playing rosters this year with new boys.
A little surprised by the Nerang V Souths result.
Nerang looks like they could be the team to watch out for I guess.... the video tells the story of a strong team....

Aren't Ippy and Jeeps in the West?
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
@Iceman

Hi

Souths didn't beat Kenmore twice - they drew in the first round

And apart from 1 or 2 shellackings that occurred ( mostly in the 2nd half of the season ) everything else was fairly even

The transition to playing full field , full team Rugby in Under 12's is interesting . And the change starts coming in U11's . The "stars" progressively get found out if they don't have a good coach and a good team around them , meaning , their team is playing to a pattern in a concerted effort toward a team game.

And Ipswich and GPS being in the West ? Yes I suppose so . However , Ipswich is a catchment onto itself whereas I see GPS drawing across a much wider base ( going North ) than just the Western Suburbs
 

Garry Owens

Alan Cameron (40)
And I don't think last year's competition was that lopsided , in that , even in a lot of the games against Souths and Easts ( not all ) there were only result differences of a 1 to 2 tries

Wynnum probably got belted the most consistently by big margins throughout the season .

Kenmore had a couple of big margin shockers in the second half of the season when the mojo was gone

Sure Souths and Easts were the better teams and the reality was their 2 or 3 best players were better than other teams 2 or 3 best players, in addition to , their Coaching may have been a bit better

I mean ...its not like Nerang in the Gold Coast Comp who were belting everyone by 40 to 50 points +++ every game for the last couple of seasons.
 
R

Rugby Spirit

Guest
See the BJRU has updated Draws / Div teams...interesting..

Looks like a very competitive Div 1 & Div 2 in the 13s. The14s and 15s have GC teams included in the Div 1 so hard to tell who will be frontrunners, I would put my $$$ on Sunnybank they are historically strong through the juniors - I will be catching some club football this weekend should be some high quality games...
 
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