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This was the year that Peter James finally did as he had been threatening and stepped
back from the Juniors. It was encouraging, however, to know that Jesse was only a
phone-call away.
We started the year with one coach in the form of Stewie Douglas, who continued with the
under 12s, and two managers in Anne Bradley who continued with the under 18s and Brian
MacMahon with the under 8s.
Team Summaries
Under 8
The year saw a variable number of under 8 players turning up for training on Wednesday
nights but eventually settled down to the delightful group of young players in Nick Bell,
Noah Sadler, Darren Pinkerton, Chester Armstrong and latterly, Mackenzie Vann together
with those such as the Angove clan, young Madeleine Francis, Jessica & Jade and others
who turned up when they were able. My own initial efforts at coaching after Linden Gunn,
our senior no. 8 and under 8 coach, who left for a new job in country NSW, were quite
rightly overshadowed by the very capable coaching from Trish Abbott and a number of
evenings of solid rugby from a new parent to the club, Marshall Vann.
On the Saturdays the coaching fell to Paull Francis, one of our senior players, and
also to their manager Brian MacMahon who also acted as referee
Under 10
Demographics worked against us this year when all of last year’s under 10s moved
up to under 12s. This demographic bubble will continue to move up through the club each
two years and will bring with it it’s own unique difficulties of too little and too
much. Together with Southern Suburbs and Brighton we were left with 4 to 5 under 10
players. An initial agreement to form a composite side of Collegians, Souths and Brighton
players wearing Collegians hooped jerseys and coached by Ben Hamer came apart when
Burnside absorbed, on loan, our under 10 players. Despite this, we continued to see a
number of our under 10 players on Wednesday evenings, especially Cameron Burrill who
gained from exposure to some of Stewart Douglas’ under 12s training.
Under 12
Stewart Douglas went from coaching a depleted under 12 side of last season to a side of
considerable numbers in the current season. It was a daunting task to both train and play
a quantity of players that were too many for one team and too few for two teams. Stewie
kept the interest of these boys by frequent interchanging throughout the season, a task
disallowed by the referee only on the last match. It looked very much like the 12s would
dominate for the entire season but towards the end this momentum started to falter. Ben
Hamer came in to train the forwards after the under 10s joined Burnside and the
combination of Stewart & Ben on the Wednesday evenings was a good one. Adrian
Griffiths did well in the role of manager.
Under 14
The under 14s had a series of coaches this year. Luke Turner proved to be a good and
reliable coach whose continuance in the role was qualified by his employment prospects. It
was unfair to have an interest in ensuring that a coach stay unemployed and when the
inevitable happened Luke’s coaching was taken over by Sandy Taylor who then had an
offer to go overseas with the Army but instead broke his shoulder and couldn’t
continue. Coaching then passed to Jeremy Allport with some occasional coaching from Mike
Regler. When Jeremy took a contract job in Africa, Mike took over and dispensed a very
special kind of coaching. Mike then started to decrease his coaching in line with the
increased time spent interstate after a promotion to be thankfully taken up by Jeremy then
safely returned from exile.
Of all the boys those in the under 14s demonstrated a unique kind of strength when
after losing to a summer-trained side by a large number to nil, they all, plus others,
returned the following week to be beaten once again - this time by 50 odd to nil. The
following week, against Vikings, they reversed the score. Had the draw not been against
them, more of which I mention later, and had a full squad been available for both training
and the matches on Saturday I have no doubt that this side would have proved the one to
beat. As it is, the sheer determination and heart, and enjoyment of rugby, will if the
numbers can be improved next year, result in a team to watch.
The one constant in the team’s year has been the more than capable presence of
Anthony & Sue Larcombe who managed them for the season.
Under 16
As with the 14s there was some initial instability in the coaching. Gary Fenner
ultimately took on the task of coaching a side where apathy prevailed in too many players.
Wednesday night training saw the usual hardcore of the dedicated but few too many to
constitute and benefit from valuable training sessions. Had the year seen the number of
players who turned up for the last game of the season and had they been available for
training during the season then we may have seen a different result. As with the coaching,
so with the managing. Ginny and I started off managing the 16s and ultimately finished the
season managing the 16s.
Under 18
Rob Sadler took on the additional role this year of coaching the 18s thus providing a
more accessible path into the seniors with a number of 18s regularly backing them up
throughout the year. Numbers were also the difficulty with the 18s this year as were
additional calls from state and schoolboys training. Again this year the 18s were capably
and enthusiastically managed by Anne Bradley.
Guest coaching
During the season guest coaching was drawn from the many and varied talents of Ben
Allgrove, John Bell, Michael Campion, Barry Cooper, Peter James, Terry Sheppard, Mark
Shimmield and, David Warner. Ted Apted was also persuaded to talk on the offside laws. A
special mention to Mick Campion for his ability to referee an under 12 game and to do so
without a whistle. A very special mention to Cyril Campion for heading home for a whistle.
Infrastructure
The under 12 competition this year was composed of teams from Brighton, Burnside,
Elizabeth, Collegians, Onkaparinga and Southern Suburbs. The under 14s had a combined
Southern Suburbs and Western Districts side in the Vikings. Burnside had no under 16 team
and in the under 18 side the year started with Brighton, Burnside, Collegians and
Elizabeth.
The competition this year was adversely affected by a draw that saw Collegians play
Onkaparinga a total of 5 times, as opposed to 2 games against Southern Suburbs, 4 against
Brighton and 3 against Elizabeth - a situation that pleased no-one.
The year also saw Elizabeth’s under 18s drop out thereby creating a 3 team
competition in that grade. The under 16s looked to be heading in the same direction until
Elizabeth successfully recruited players for both 14s and 16s primarily from the ranks of
disaffected League players.
The pre-season 7-a-side competition is one that doesn’t suit Collegians or
Burnside but gives the other clubs, especially Onkaparinga, the chance to get going from
the early training that they have instituted. Burnside declined to compete this year. As
we can field few players at that time, given the requirements of both cricket and rowing,
we must consider the relevance to Collegians of this kind of competition in 2002.
Registrar
Sue Thewlis ran this job admirably throughout the year recognising that the job of
registrar is also one of ensuring the subscriptions get paid. This is a job that can
remain invisible to most bystanders but tends to do so only when it is being done
properly. As with Judy Morgan last year, the job appeared to be transparent.
Recognition
The following people need to be recognised and thanked for their contribution
throughout the season;
Linden Gunn, Brian McMahon, Paull Francis, Trish Abbott and Marshall Vann.
Stewart Douglas, Ben Hamer and Adrian Griffiths.
Luke Turner, Sandy Taylor, Mad Dog, Mike (Don’t-talk-to-me-while-I’m-coaching)
Regler, Anthony & Sue
Larcombe.
Gary Fenner and Roy Crawford.
Rob Sadler and Anne Bradley
Our junior patron, Joyce Spry
Our registrar, Sue Thewlis, & her husband Ian
The Club Committee & the Club.
State Representatives
A total 16 Collegians’ players represented South Australia in 2001. These players
were:
Alex Rokobaro |
U12 |
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Adam Kahl |
U18 |
David Abernethy |
U12 |
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Dean Bradley |
U18 |
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David King |
U18 |
Andrew Giles |
U14 |
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Gareth Crouch |
U18 |
Henry Boylan |
U14 |
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Jeremy Thewlis |
U18 |
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Leigh Marsland |
U18 |
Ben Stevens |
U16 |
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Mike Regler |
U18 |
James Pinkerton |
U16 |
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Peter Cross |
U18 |
Nick McCabe |
U16 |
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Shannon Hall |
U18 |
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Awards
The following players and members won the following awards presented at the Junior
Presentation day.
Club Awards:
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Tackling Trophies
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Rod Hauser Tackling Trophy
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U10
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Bob Burgess Tackling Trophy
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U12
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Tom Northcott
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Denis Hayden Tackling Trophy
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U14
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Daniel Larcombe
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Michael Raymond Tackling Trophy
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U16
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Michael Bell
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Ken Grayling Tackling Trophy
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U18
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Dean Bradley
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Most Improved Junior
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John & Judy Brady Trophy
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Tom Northcott
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Coaches Awards
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Meryl & Hugh Kerr-Grant Trophy
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Under 10 Coaches Award
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Peter "Doc" Douglas Trophy
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Under 12 Coaches Award
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Will Sadler
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Julie & David Turner Trophy
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Under 14 Coaches Award
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Guy Barrett
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Maxine & Ian Walker Trophy
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Under 16 Coaches Award
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James Pinkerton
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Helen & Howard Clay Trophy
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Under 18 Coaches Award
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Jeremy Thewlis & David King
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Junior Clubman
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James Pinkerton
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Club Captain
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Jeremy Thewlis
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Joyce Spry Scholarship (Under 14
Forward)
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Henry Boylan, Oliver Greenwell
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Howard Clay Scholarship (Under 12
Back)
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Alex Rokobaro
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State Awards
Sir Norman Jude Tackling Trophy - James Pinkerton
Results
We failed to get into the finals this year in any grade. This was a reflection of poor
player numbers, low numbers to training, timing clashes from state and schoolboys
training, an initial lack of coaches, a few naïve decisions made by the coordinators and
an inequitable draw - and the no doubt well deserved rumblings of discontent from senior
and junior club members.
Conclusions
This was a year when the gutsy displays of football by those of our juniors who were
determined to play and determined to train each week were compromised by the lack of
numbers. It was a constant struggle in the U14s, U16s and U18s to get players out.
There was an initial loss of spirit from a lack of coaches, from the poor numbers and
consequent poor performance from the pre-season debacle and from the degraded under 16s
and 18s competition . There was some continuing resentment amongst some players and some
parents that Jesse was no longer running the juniors which was not unexpected. This seemed
to carry through the year especially in the under 16s who lacked any real motivation for
most of the season.
On the positive side, we’ve seen a greater interest being developed in the juniors
by our senior players, promises from past players that they will be returning in 2002
(although some would be too old for the junior competition) and more importantly the
realisation that those of our junior players, who had over 2001 suffered the indignities
of sometimes humiliating losses, came back each week, not necessarily with a smile, for
more of the same, were something very special. What they lacked initially in coaching and
what they lacked over the year in numbers, they made up for with heart.
For 2002 we will be able to start the year with a full complement of coaches, with the
objective being two coaches per grade.
We have been contributing to the recruitment of potential new players into the under 8
to under 12 grades from the local primary schools to start building our numbers up from
the earliest years.
However, this is not as successful as it should or could be because of an inability to
capitalise on the interest generated amongst primary school children by the SARU
development officers - this may possibly be due to discouragement by parents and some
teachers and is not helped by a lack of club people to send out on all local primary
school visits and primary school carnivals. At the time of the visit there are a large
number of children keen to play but none or very few ever make it to the clubs; we have
started linking in to the relocation units of estate agents to grab our share of the new
arrivals to Adelaide.
As well, we have been encouraging our seniors to recognise, acknowledge and contribute
to the junior grades of this Club.
However, we also need to further encourage our juniors and their parents to recognise,
acknowledge and contribute to the Club itself. There are still junior players who
haven’t seen their coaches play in senior competition - at least those who still do.
As Jesse James discussed in his Annual Report for the year 2000, and nothing has
changed in that regard since then, we have some considerable talent in the junior ranks
but this will not continue unless we can succeed with recruitment, especially in the under
8, 10 and 14s. There is a genuine and urgent need for a club person to be dedicated to
recruitment locally - this will prove to be a ‘full-time’ honorary role.
As with last year, we had a good retention rate of players going up to the seniors.
With the under 8s and under 10s playing at Bailey and with the rest of the juniors
playing home and away it proved impossible to give the Walla players the time and
consideration they deserved. It will be necessary next year to have one person devoted to
a coordination role of the under 8s and under 10s.
Once again, we continue to meet our objective in a global sense but for the junior club
on the whole we could have and realistically should have done better.
The club narrowly missed securing the Eastwood Trophy for junior club champions for the
third year by 65 points due to the loss of our under 10s and the higher numbers of state
players put out by the winner of the trophy, Onkaparinga. Congratulations, however, to all
players, members and parents, who ensured that our on-field discipline would otherwise
have ensured our securing the trophy.
Conclusion
Ginny & I thank all those who helped during the season. We congratulate our boys on
the guts and determination shown during sometimes difficult circumstances.
Ironically neither of our boys played this year and we wonder if perhaps they belong to
that group within the club who prefer to see Jesse in the role.
As for us, it’s not clear where our futures are headed next year and so we cannot
commit to continue with this into the next year. In an ideal situation of geographic
tenure we, or at least I, would commit to it regardless. In fact, though, we have not had
the full support of the Club and this does make a difference when the year has not been a
success. As we don’t have the certainty in our futures that most others enjoy then it
is only sensible and more beneficial for the club that we announce that we cannot continue
next year. I do this with considerable regret - firstly because we’ve been actively
involved with these boys for the past 4 years and secondly because we feel that next year
will be a far better year for all.
To all of the junior players I say thank you. I feel humbled by you all and I have no
doubt that had we the additional players and a more equitable draw, the year could easily
have finished differently. But it didn’t.
U16 Coach’s Report
Although the season was not a great success with heavy losses on the pitch, a positive
was that we had a nucleus of several players that turned up for training and on
Saturday's, regardless of weather, week in week out.
Hopefully these players will go forward to the U18s and continue to be part of the club.
When there is commitment from a number of players, however small, 1 would urge that the
club responds with some commitment and interaction with the senior part of the club.
The U16 & U18 level is crucial to the club as this is the time that players tend to
wander away or give up.
We also have a good representation at senior and state level and these contacts and
opportunities should be used to increase and strengthen the club at the junior level.
This year the club experienced unprecedented success at senior level, but minimal or no
success at junior. For the club to continue in this vein there has to be more support
given to the juniors.
We should also try to rectify the balance between home and away matches as 1 noted a
negative attitude from the players, as they had to travel and play at either Onkas or
Elizabeth on what seemed a weekly basis.
There is a solid base of players in the juniors and as they say "you build from the
foundations up ".
... Gary Fenner, U16 Coach, 13th November 2001
Vacancies
As mentioned above we should have good support next year from existing and new coaches.
They will all need to be contacted before the season starts.
In addition to the junior coordinator position, Sue Thewlis will not be continuing as
junior registrar next year as Jeremy will be a senior player, although she will readily
assist the new registrar to settle in.
If the U8s and U10s continue to play at Bailey next year it is essential that someone
takes on the role of running them each week.
In addition, it is essential that for next year someone, again reporting to the
coordinator, take on the role of liaising with the SARU development officers, liaising
with the schools and assisting with carnivals and encouraging the primary school children
to move to club rugby - it is a role that is not necessarily time-consuming but ideally
needs someone with part of the week free during normal working hours.
Paul Horne, Ginny Bullen
26th November 2001
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