Sydney Subbies 2025

[TightMeatHead93]

It was quite conniving to beat them three times when the third game Knox forfeited…

Yeah, a tough game for the Knox old boys colts on Saturday against Beecroft. It was a real nail biter until the bell

 

[Odyssey_Park the 2nd]

Surely Hunters would have the space to host some divisions grand finals and it’s fairly local as well to everyone. Plus they’ve got a big shiny new club house.
They are of course busy down the road on the same day.
I really think the best option is grouping everyone together like we used to do at Mac Uni

 

[Pfitzy]

I really think the best option is grouping everyone together like we used to do at Mac Uni

It was a real festival atmosphere. Parking sucked tho

I'd love to host at the Field Of Dreams, but at this time of year can't count on rugbaleg to guarantee the booking!

 

[hogieslammer]

Does Subbies still publish the end of year report on yellow/red cards per club?

 

[Odyssey_Park the 2nd]

What if Subbies/NSW rugby were to book these venues for finals as they’d (I hope) have bigger pull with the other associations. Then you group the lower divisions together at a ground that can cope as discussed above.

Tim then sends out an email asking for clubs to assist in running the day. Set up, canteen, bbq etc. (unless a club wants to take it all on). The profit from the day which I assume would be a decent amount if you grouped 3 divisions together. Then the clubs that assisted get a discount on their fees next year. So a club like Newport this year that’s lost a heap of money from wet weather changes could send some guys and reduce there costs in 2026.

It’s not perfect and I’m sure it would involve a lot of set up but it’s an incentive for clubs to help out on finals day.

 

[Odyssey_Park the 2nd]

What do you think means more for UNSW? Winning the club championship or being in 4 out of 5 (should have been 5 but they butchered it)Grand-finals this weekend?
Interesting to see what holds more value, in theory Petersham should go up if there is a spot but if UNSW win 2+ premierships it would be a hard to argue with.

 

[Here To Do]

What do you think means more for UNSW? Winning the club championship or being in 4 out of 5 (should have been 5 but they butchered it)Grand-finals this weekend?
Interesting to see what holds more value, in theory Petersham should go up if there is a spot but if UNSW win 2+ premierships it would be a hard to argue with.

My personal opinion is that Petersham need to win the top 2 games to be considered for promotion at this point.

Yes, Petersham are club champions, but they haven't had the lower grade depth in a competition that was designed to give all but 2 teams the chance at premierships. That, for me, is a missed opportunity. As much as it pains me to say having an affinity for them as neighbours (kinda), Petersham have been the top club this season in many ways, but UNSW have been right on their tail when behind them AND miles ahead of them in 3s and 4s.

UNSW are the team I believe should go up assuming they don't s*** the bed on Saturday. Look at their performance top to bottom - EVERY grade made finals and only 1 grade (ironically, their lowest) missed the Grand Final. If you want to look at a club that will be competitive in Div One, where you'll need to field an extra side, you have to look at a team with 5 already strong teams ready to go.

The only thing that will hurt them on Saturday is that they have to field 60 fresh players in consecutive games - are they going to have any fresh reserves that wouldn't be starting in a lower grade? It's an odd situation for sure, but that comes down to Club Championships points multipliers rather than any perceived gulf in performance.

 

[hogieslammer]

My personal opinion is that Petersham need to win the top 2 games to be considered for promotion at this point.

Yes, Petersham are club champions, but they haven't had the lower grade depth in a competition that was designed to give all but 2 teams the chance at premierships. That, for me, is a missed opportunity. As much as it pains me to say having an affinity for them as neighbours (kinda), Petersham have been the top club this season in many ways, but UNSW have been right on their tail when behind them AND miles ahead of them in 3s and 4s.

UNSW are the team I believe should go up assuming they don't s*** the bed on Saturday. Look at their performance top to bottom - EVERY grade made finals and only 1 grade (ironically, their lowest) missed the Grand Final. If you want to look at a club that will be competitive in Div One, where you'll need to field an extra side, you have to look at a team with 5 already strong teams ready to go.

The only thing that will hurt them on Saturday is that they have to field 60 fresh players in consecutive games - are they going to have any fresh reserves that wouldn't be starting in a lower grade? It's an odd situation for sure, but that comes down to Club Championships points multipliers rather than any perceived gulf in performance.

It poses a strong question about promotion, what matters more: club championship points or overall season and depth performance.

CC favours clubs who have higher performances further up which can make up for issues in grades further down.

 

[Here To Do]

It poses a strong question about promotion, what matters more: club championship points or overall season and depth performance.

CC favours clubs who have higher performances further up which can make up for issues in grades further down.

I guess it's a matter of the classic superannuation disclaimer: "past performance is not a reliable indicator of future success"

There's every chance that, if Petersham go up, they get a massive influx of players who provide the rising tide that raises all ships. Conversely, you could say the same for UNSW, or the opposite for either.

There's every chance that UNSW's depth evaporates over night - no contracts, no guarantees.

With all that said, if we take a look at raw numbers, based on final placings (including Semis results):

Club	1s	2s	Colts	3s	4s
Petersham	1/2	1/2	3	5	6
UNSW	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	3

Can anyone tell me how, excluding the obvious BPs and CC multipliers, anyone could argue that Petersham had a better year overall than UNSW?

 

[footy_footy]

The double points factor skews the Club Championship a bit this year too but in saying that UNSW had the benefit of not travelling to Camperdown in 2025 and playing for double points at home, which they lost.

Either way, both clubs have had a good year in their own right. Neither have really matched Newport or Lindfield of recent seasons in terms of overall dominance which needs to be borne in mind when considering what's next.

 

[Odyssey_Park the 2nd]

There's every chance that UNSW's depth evaporates over night - no contracts, no guarantees.

This unfortunately is the issue with the promotion relegation system. The assumption is you will continue to grow and be able to compete at a higher level. But players often use success as a reason to pull the pin.

UNSW have been one of the top sides for the last 5-10 years in Divi 2 and a number of that group have been chasing premierships that haven’t eventuated and this may be the culmination for a number of there players who choose to walk away if they get over the line on Saturday.

UNSW has definitely been the form club this year and previous years (no shade on Petersham). If they get promoted next year and don’t hold there own in Div 1, the question has to be asked who can make that jump and what does it mean for Div 1?

 

[Pfitzy]

This unfortunately is the issue with the promotion relegation system. The assumption is you will continue to grow and be able to compete at a higher level. But players often use success as a reason to pull the pin.

"Oh that's a club culture problem!" snort some clubs as they wheel out their 200th player that round.

And yes it can be an issue with the way clubs manage their pipelines and player communication. However, when people are chasing trophies, some of these concerns can get ignored.

An interesting data point would be the average age of the starting XV for each club's top 2 Grades in Divs 1-3.

 

[Pfitzy]

First Div clubs in finals count - 1st to 4th Grade + Colts:

5 - Mosman
4 - Blue Mountains, Waverley
3 - Colleagues, Hunters Hill
1 - Newport

0 - Drummoyne, Lindfield

Colleagues, Waverley, Blueys, Lindfield running 1-4 in Sutherland Cup BUT there looks to be a catch-up game happening tomorrow night - Waverley v Lindfield at Woollahra #1. Might explain why the semis for Sutherland aren't updated in Fuse.

NSW Suburban Rugby Union

rugbyresults.fusesport.com

 

[Pfitzy]

there looks to be a catch-up game happening tomorrow night - Waverley v Lindfield at Woollahra #1

Likes like Newport and Hunters Hill are also having 3s and 4s play Wednesday night.

6.45pm and 7.45pm at Porter's - no bearing on finals but could be important for CC finish

EDIT: Lindfield on 995 and Newport on 956 - margin of 39 points. Points up for grabs:

Lindfield Sutherland - maximum of 5 CC points
Newport Whiddon is up to 30, and Judd is up to 15.


If all three teams win with a BP Newport take it 1001 to 1000...

 

[HarryElite]

Looking at Eric Tweedle. The venue has 3 fields why are we not looking to utilise those fields for Grandfinals next week? You could host 3 divisions in the one spot, which would reduce admin for Subbies, take the pressure of refs and be appealing for someone to host as it would be a huge crowd.
Even if you’re worried about space you could do 2 divisions there and 2 at Penrith. But for some reason we are headed to Forshaw next week that’s no where near any of the clubs in Div 3. I know you have to have clubs hosting but I’m sure some money over the bar/canteen would appeal to clubs after washouts.
Div 1 & 2- Concord
Div 3 & 4- Eric Tweedle
Div 5 & 6- Penrith
Or Woolhara for those not keen on travelling west.

rugby league has it booked all Saturday for juniors state/school champs or something. my nephew is playing there. was booked a long time ago before subbies asked for finals to be played there i believe

 

[Odyssey_Park the 2nd]

I guess it's a matter of the classic superannuation disclaimer: "past performance is not a reliable indicator of future success"

There's every chance that, if Petersham go up, they get a massive influx of players who provide the rising tide that raises all ships. Conversely, you could say the same for UNSW, or the opposite for either.

There's every chance that UNSW's depth evaporates over night - no contracts, no guarantees.

With all that said, if we take a look at raw numbers, based on final placings (including Semis results):

Club	1s	2s	Colts	3s	4s
Petersham	1/2	1/2	3	5	6
UNSW	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	3

Can anyone tell me how, excluding the obvious BPs and CC multipliers, anyone could argue that Petersham had a better year overall than UNSW?

Another interesting one is the situation in Div 1. Hunters have been dominant in 1st Grade and have won the club champs, but there lower grades haven’t been too successful. In the other hand you have Waverley with minor premierships in 2nd-5th Grade and 2nd in 1s.
An interesting discussion around whose had the better year given by most metrics (CCs and Kentwell wins) you’d say Hunters but it’s an impressive effort from Waverley especially given they also ran a 6th grade that finished 3rd in a completely different division.

 

[Here To Do]

Another interesting one is the situation in Div 1. Hunters have been dominant in 1st Grade and have won the club champs, but there lower grades haven’t been too successful. In the other hand you have Waverley with minor premierships in 2nd-5th Grade and 2nd in 1s.
An interesting discussion around whose had the better year given by most metrics (CCs and Kentwell wins) you’d say Hunters but it’s an impressive effort from Waverley especially given they also ran a 6th grade that finished 3rd in a completely different division.

That's where things get tricky - didn't even know about Waves' dominance on that level. Very similar argument but it's saved by the fact that they can't go any higher, I guess.

 

[Pfitzy]

I think there is a balance to Hunters Hill being string in the "competitive" grades i.e. 1st XV, 2nd XV, and Colts, and the guys who are in the "social" grades Thirsty Thirds and Fightin' Fourths.

Waverley are a very young club on average and don't have the same kind of structure, instead being a group of 5-6 competitive squads across the board. Their Colts finished in the bottom 2 the last couple of years and it doesn't seem to be a priority for them. They don't need to develop youth when their recruitment seems heavily based around visiting players

 

[CrashBandicoot2]

Div 2.
Does anyone think that this competition isnt as strong this year. Petersham were extremely lucky to get away with the W against Irish - Irish seemed more in control, however Petersham took their chances when on attack.
UNSW also very lucky to get away from Briars, realistically a line ball forward pass call and a knock on call off a strip was the only difference in the game.
From last year, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade quality appeared to be better,

Div 3. Hills absolutely butchered their 1st Grade game with an extremely high error rate gifting the game to Hornsby. Not sure how they do selections given their 2nd grade team looks stronger than their 1st grade. Politics?
Beecroft and Knox played a decent game with minimal defense. Beecroft are lucky they didnt lose a player to suspension with a dangerous lifting tackle that has been Red multiple times in the season. In the same incident, Knox had a player yellowed for no reason.

Div 4.
No suprises in the finals. The faux top 4 was really a top 3 and Balmain have some decent cattle. This Grand final wont be pretty, but guess its the luck of playing in this division, which should really be 6 based off the level of skill.

Div 5.
Cant find the video of Redfield Harlequins, but seems like Redfield overran them late.
HV and Epping was a bit of a fizzer. HV scored 3 simple tries but looked out of options for the rest of the game. Epping didnt have much direction and looked like they were missing some speed from their backline. Referee also appeared to have some interesting calls stopping some try scoring opportunities when the game was tight.

Div 6.
Didnt watch.

 

[Pfitzy]

Hills absolutely butchered their 1st Grade game with an extremely high error rate gifting the game to Hornsby

TBF Hornsby have a very good first grade squad, and seem to have most of them back on the park after what looked like a disrupted year.

I was surprised they didn't finish higher tbh, and they'll give Beecroft a real fight in the most important game of the year