Southern Inland Rugby 2023

[paul bristow]

Reasoning there is no problem with rugby in Griffith. Some players with season injuries, transient workforce and some older players retiring. The results haven’t been there but that was expected. Good playing and training numbers. 4 grades no forfeits. Happy club with good culture. Re-building phase.

 

[Maulalltheway]

What's the saying - "Nothing ventured - Nothing gained" - Well Reddies are definitely in that category atm.
Why not put a team in the nearby South West Comp which is a 1 Grade only Comp for the men and also has a Womens Competition with about 5 or 6 in a current 8 team competition.
Playing Home & Away matches against the likes of Cootamundra, Temora, West Wyalong & Harden could suit the Club big time if they are intent on surviving.
The demise on the field of both Griffith & Albury this year is also a concern.
Both places have big populations and from all accounts healthy Juniors Clubs. So what is NOT Happening after Juniors ?
When the SIRU Comp is being dominated by the 3 Wagga Clubs (as it is now by City, Waratahs & Ag College) it loses a lot of lustre to general Rugby followers down South, out West and even locally in and around Wagga
I haven't got the answers but work is definitely needed by the Powers of Be in a lot of areas that are effecting the local Competition.
I don't think the Wallabies will win the World Cup but if they happen to do an "Eddie Fluke" I don't think that will solve the Code's problems both locally and nationally.

as a zone we need to do everything possible to help and keep the reddies. we cant lose another club to the central west.

We need them in 1's, 2's and ladies, and we need them strong again!

 

[Bubba 2.0]

Reddies forfeit 1's v Deni. Thats not good news in any shape or form . I think its the last time Reddies would have left wagga so hopefully we can avoid this scenario again . Otherwise its probably the death knell of a proud club.

City to account for Tumut , Tahs to rattle up the points v Griffith and Aggies to pummel Albury as well. City girls for the win and Griffith girls in a hard fought game.

 

[yourmatesam]

Great news for Dylan Pietsch just named in the Wallabies Squad!!! Awesome for a local junior to get to that level.

 

[Bubba 2.0]

I think we would all love to know how last nights board meeting progressed ! Hot topic being Reddies and their immediate future. I hope for the integrity of the comp they can hang on this season. And perhaps there does need to be some sort of intervention by SIRU / Brumbies ?

 

[Maulalltheway]

I think we would all love to know how last nights board meeting progressed ! Hot topic being Reddies and their immediate future. I hope for the integrity of the comp they can hang on this season. And perhaps there does need to be some sort of intervention by SIRU / Brumbies ?

nurse them through this season. Then help them as much as possible in every possible way for next year and the near future

 

[Maulalltheway]

Good to see the reddies bounce back with a second grade win on the weekend.

pretty tough break for Aggies to lose Anthony Taylor for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Poor fella.

no doubt they’ll cover it though. Big numbers and depth out at the college

 

[Bubba 2.0]

Well the minor premiership is now an intricate affair isnt it ?

We need two big wins , aggies need two big wins and tahs need two big wins. Given we play Aggies in last round that game turns into one of mega importance as does the Tumut v Tahs game . Juicy !

I'm not saying saturday was one of the more unpleasant days for rugby i've seen but it gave it a red hot shake !

 

[paul bristow]

Points are what it’s all about this round. How big a score can Waratahs run up against Reddies at home. Who reckons 100? Griffith has won its last 2. What score will Aggies put on Blacks at home? What about City at Deni? Is anyone willing to be honest and not politically correct/ conservative and predict the scores when these top teams play the bottom teams and are out to shoot the lights out?

 

[Maulalltheway]

Points are what it’s all about this round. How big a score can Waratahs run up against Reddies at home. Who reckons 100? Griffith has won its last 2. What score will Aggies put on Blacks at home? What about City at Deni? Is anyone willing to be honest and not politically correct/ conservative and predict the scores when these top teams play the bottom teams and are out to shoot the lights out?

Come on PB. Throw us your numbers

 

[paul bristow]

Hi Mauler. In other circumstances I think Waratahs would be a bit easy going towards Reddies. But in this situation the top 3 teams have to be ruthless. I’m going 80. Griffith are sending over an OK team but Aggies are classy. Thinking 50. City can really pile on the points but it’s at Deni. Thinking 50 as well. Tumut to beat Albury by 20.

 

[paul bristow]

Glad Waratahs got Mauler’s message to nurse Reddies through the rest of the season.

 

[Maulalltheway]

Glad Waratahs got Mauler’s message to nurse Reddies through the rest of the season.

Like you said mate ruthless…

 

[paul bristow]

That’s true Mauler with that round just gone. I was shocked at the Bulls Steamers score line. I know Reddies are the butt of jokes but there’s not that much between them Blacks, Steamers and Deni at the moment.

 

[Maulalltheway]

The silence is deafening. Must be a tight comp

here are my tips if anyone really cares anymore. Haha

Tahs
City
Griffith
Albury

also wishing our mate yourmatesam a swift recovery from his golden oldies shoulder buster last weekend!!! Nothing a port or two shouldn’t fix mate!

 

[yourmatesam]

also wishing our mate yourmatesam a swift recovery from his golden oldies shoulder buster last weekend!!! Nothing a port or two shouldn’t fix mate!

Ha ha, thanks mate!! I was devo to miss out on the port and beers!!

Fingers crossed for surgery tomorrow and then the recovery can start all over again

 

[namtrak]

All kudos to the 1st Grade finalists, but I think some kudos needs to go to Griffith, Deni, Reddies and Steamers. In some ways it’s these clubs that form the backbone of the competition.

Griffith held together 3 men’s grades all year and a women’s team and have made finals in 3 grades. Only City, Aggies and Griffith delivered 4 gradesall year.

Deni toughed out a return to First Grade

Reddies hung tough in 2 men’s and a women’s team and have made finals in 1 grade

Steamers delivered 3 men’s grades all year, only forfeiting 1 3rd grade game late in the year.

It’s these teams that play through some big losses and questionable player numbers that prop up the entire competition. SIRU probably needs to start thinking outside the box on how best to support these grass roots clubs.

 

[putitthroughthehands]

IDEA - worth considering:
I just thought I would address some potential ways in order to bring SIRU back to life - like the good old day. Where teams were always pretty reasonably balanced, decent crowds would appear every weekend everywhere you play. The strong competition, especially in the early 2000's would mean that there was at minimum 8,9 teams with 2 and 3 grades.

Where the SIRU comp is now, I think that it is quite lob-sided towards the Wagga City and Tahs. Nothing wrong with being really good but, is it really that fun when you are winning by great margins every week? I wouldn't think so. It gets boring.
We have to feel a lot for Reddies currently. Struggling to get even a 1st grade team. No one really wants to join a losing side but WE HAVE TO FIX THIS.

Years ago, for those of you who know, the Ovens and Murray Football League (O&M) was dominated by the Albury Tigers, with ex-AFL players coming back and stacking the team let alone the club. The only way to fix this was by introducing a 'points system'. This is where the league gives each player, like a rank, a certain amount of points and a team could never have more than a certain amount of 'points' in the team. This fixed the league as it promoted strong players to go and play for other clubs and make the competition fair and INTERSETING with pretty much all teams playing consistent and strong AFL.

I think that SIRU needs to introduce this into the competition. Especially in Wagga to even out the clubs and promote more people to play rugby in strong teams. Distribute the talent and bring some 'hype' to the great game of rugby union. Not only would this promote great 'local talk' but it would start pulling greater crowds, especially old boys back down to the likes of Connoly, the uni, Jarrah and Murrayfield.

Also, I thibk that the 'D.O's' need to be doing so much more. The SIRU board and employees of Brumbies get away with working small hours and to be honest, not doing a whole lot.

SIRU needs to fix this and I think that an idea such as this would 'make rugby union great again'.

 

[putitthroughthehands]

All kudos to the 1st Grade finalists, but I think some kudos needs to go to Griffith, Deni, Reddies and Steamers. In some ways it’s these clubs that form the backbone of the competition.

Griffith held together 3 men’s grades all year and a women’s team and have made finals in 3 grades. Only City, Aggies and Griffith delivered 4 gradesall year.

Deni toughed out a return to First Grade

Reddies hung tough in 2 men’s and a women’s team and have made finals in 1 grade

Steamers delivered 3 men’s grades all year, only forfeiting 1 3rd grade game late in the year.

It’s these teams that play through some big losses and questionable player numbers that prop up the entire competition. SIRU probably needs to start thinking outside the box on how best to support these grass roots clubs.

Well said. SIRU needs to starting thinking not only outside the box but outside the proposed 'Wagga Bubble'

These clubs have always proven to be strong and be real competition.

 

[Maulalltheway]

IDEA - worth considering:
I just thought I would address some potential ways in order to bring SIRU back to life - like the good old day. Where teams were always pretty reasonably balanced, decent crowds would appear every weekend everywhere you play. The strong competition, especially in the early 2000's would mean that there was at minimum 8,9 teams with 2 and 3 grades.

Where the SIRU comp is now, I think that it is quite lob-sided towards the Wagga City and Tahs. Nothing wrong with being really good but, is it really that fun when you are winning by great margins every week? I wouldn't think so. It gets boring.
We have to feel a lot for Reddies currently. Struggling to get even a 1st grade team. No one really wants to join a losing side but WE HAVE TO FIX THIS.

Years ago, for those of you who know, the Ovens and Murray Football League (O&M) was dominated by the Albury Tigers, with ex-AFL players coming back and stacking the team let alone the club. The only way to fix this was by introducing a 'points system'. This is where the league gives each player, like a rank, a certain amount of points and a team could never have more than a certain amount of 'points' in the team. This fixed the league as it promoted strong players to go and play for other clubs and make the competition fair and INTERSETING with pretty much all teams playing consistent and strong AFL.

I think that SIRU needs to introduce this into the competition. Especially in Wagga to even out the clubs and promote more people to play rugby in strong teams. Distribute the talent and bring some 'hype' to the great game of rugby union. Not only would this promote great 'local talk' but it would start pulling greater crowds, especially old boys back down to the likes of Connoly, the uni, Jarrah and Murrayfield.

Also, I thibk that the 'D.O's' need to be doing so much more. The SIRU board and employees of Brumbies get away with working small hours and to be honest, not doing a whole lot.

SIRU needs to fix this and I think that an idea such as this would 'make rugby union great again'.

Wasnt the point system was brought in to level out the spending inequality in local AFL mate. it stopped the haves from going further ahead than the have-nots because the ex afl players arent coming for free.
In my humble opinion this wont work in rugby where people play in the majority of instances to play with mates and choose their clubs based on the culture or identity they want to be a part of, not based on who is paying them more. Saying to players you cant play because were going to be over points wont work, it will simply drive people away from the game. No kid from Ag College is going to play for the reddies regardless of a cap system, they'll stay there as a supporter and member of the club over leaving.

There have always been sides getting pumped in our zone. I copped two 100 point losses as a player in 2004 two weeks in a row playing for Ag College. 3 years later Ag college won the comp because they worked hard as a club, embraced the uni culture and were gifted with a Vet science degree that kept players at the uni for longer.

Apart from form disparity this season has been one of the more successful seasons i can recall. i think there were only 3 forfeits all year and minimal byes. Compare that to last season. Teams go through cycles. Albury and Griffith are well set to grow their playing quality quickly. High numbers will do this if nurtured correctly. Tumut had too many reserves for second grade last weekend. good signs.

Deni Reddies and Leeton are concerns. all proud clubs and some soul searching to be had but by no means an impossible task.

on the SIRU office and the DO (singular), it may pay to look at what has been formed over the last 12 months in the way of a strategic planning committee. here is the link to the detail.

2023 Strategic Plan

The SIRU Board and Club Representatives on the Strategic Plan Sub-Committee have been working behind the scenes to develop the 2023 SIRU Strategic Plan. The Plan outlines the current SIRU programs,...

www.southerninlandru.com

I personally think clubs have to look internally and fix a lot of their issues themselves. sides can turn around quickly with smart and active committees willing to think outside of the square. WAC 04-07, City 18-20 just two examples of it happening.

Just my opinion