Richard Shelliburger
Frank Row (1)
Phillips (I) position could be in jeopardy though with player like Alexander Yeoda showing tremendous progression mostly in his lineout throws (far better then Phillips) and his scrumming ability.
Shelly
NSW AAGPS 2024
- Thread starter Joker
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Shelly
Hardyardmenrugby
Bob McCowan (2)
Hey mate, seriously considered him but came to the conclusion that I see him in the GPS 2nd XV this year. Would potentially be 1sts if it weren’t for the likes of James “Cheese” as the schoolboys call him, Warner.
It is time for Rookie's Weekly Match Previews.
Kings v Joeys @ Castle Greyskull (yes I am bringing it back)
The men hailing from the Hunters Hill region have once again reminded us of how stupid it is to tip against them for the title. All of us should repent for committing this sin. Joeys travel to the pristine lawns of White Oval to take on a Kings side crippled by the graduation of many of their premiership-winning players of 2023 (*cough* Hadley Tonga *cough*). Can Tony George's men cause an upset? My guess is that even Mr. George is doubtful, despite sport at Kings being "a war against Shore, Joeys and Scots. May we be victorious." (direct quote from Tony George at an assembly for HOTR in 2022).
Joeys will have their tails up after marching through Newington in round 1 and preseason favourites, The Scots College, in round 2. Joeys fought against Scots like a dog backed into a corner. Some may say, Joeys have that dog in them. Joeys controlled the entire game, dictating the pace and possession and played extremely aggressively, showing superior fitness and speed to the star-studded Stormtroopers. Should they keep this up, along with immaculate structure, it will be a big ask for the Anglicans to repel the Catholics on this occasion. Joeys may even ruin the sublime condition of White Oval intentionally as a little souvenir for The King's School.
Kings will be hurting after a tough loss to Shore. However, to their credit, it seemed as though they had to fight two battles at once. One battle against the Shoremen on the field, and another against the Shoremen in the crowd. The lack of numbers in support of Kings last week at Northbridge was disappointing. There was an army of wild Shore boys in the Hawker Stand giving each warcry everything they've got and the Kings 1st XV were not able to rely on their crowd to fight back. Being at home, I will assume the amount of support for Kings will greatly increase this weekend at Castle Greyskull. Their is nothing quite like hearing the warcries of the men in military uniforms reverberate around White Oval. Kings will be looking to break down the structure of Joeys as this was where they thrived against Shore last week. Look for Kings to strike when play becomes unstructured. However, the cattle from Heaven's Pasture look like a team on a mission and Kings may not be the team to stop the stampede.
Cattle dogs to break the White and Blue shield 15+
Scots v Riverview @ The Death Star
Perhaps the Stormtroopers of Bellevue Hill will feel a tad more comfortable playing back within close proximity to those of their social class, or knowing that Mummy's Porsche is there to take them to hospital should they sustain a serious injury. I say this because Scots looked well and truly out of their comfort zone against Joeys last weekend. Riverview on the other hand will be looking to make it three on the trot and silence the bagpipes before disappearing back into the Swamp they came from.
You know, I should have seen a Jesuit ambush as a genuine possibility. I remember Riverview being written off at the beginning of last season, too. Look how they ended up. Red-hot Riverview are coming into this matchup with tails pointing higher than a Golden Retriever in an upper-middle-class white family somewhere in New England. While they struggle to put points on against Newington last weekend, I never thought View looked like losing at any point in the match. With speed in the backs combined with excellent fitness, I expect Riverview will aim to play a similar game to Joeys last weekend and exploit Scots seemingly inferior fitness and teamwork.
Scots continue to pester many with strange backline selections. This team has many star-studded individuals, but they play like a team of individuals. Passes haven't been sticking, communication has been lacking and players are playing in positions that are atypical of what many would predict. Last week, I jokingly stated that time will tell us if The Scots College has decided their money is better spent on their new Student Centre Castle than on their prestigious rugby program. Well... I'll just leave that to hang. Scots need to tighten up their game and move as unit. They will be incredibly hard to stop should this come to fruition. Do I see this happening within a week? With the news out of Scots Rugby this week of reshuffling, I would say no as I predict things may be getting a little tense inside the white buildings of Scots.
Ignatians to blow up the Death Star 5+
Shore v Newington @ Stirling Bridge
"PIES PIES PIES!!" chanted the Shore boys after their win against Kings last week... probably. The Shoremen return home to The Bridge from their luxury homes in Cremorne Point, Balmoral, Seaforth and other parts of the North Shore that are seemingly unaffected by the current cost of living crisis. I have insider knowledge that every hairdresser in Mosman is expecting a big day of business on Saturday as the Shore Mums prepare to do God's work in the Northbridge canteen once again. The Wookies are once again away from Stanmore International Airport and will be desperate to notch a win under their belt and silence one of the craziest crowds in the GPS. Quick side note - do Newington finally have... a good warcry? I will be keen to hear the 5 Newington boys in the crowd at Northbridge singing "Power! The Black and The White makes a monster!"
The silver lining for Newington last week was that they defended their hearts out for a significant portion of last week's loss against Riverview. While they never looked like clinching the game, they can certainly take some positives away from last week. The question is: will that loss dampen their spirits? Or will they take confidence from their defensive effort? Let's see what they've got. One thing is certain: This is a must-win game for Newington. A loss to the Shoremen would all but put a line through their season.
Shore reminded us of why a lot of us predicted them to perform strongly this season against Kings last Saturday. Their structure is immaculate and the pace of their backs is arguably their most valuable asset. Should the wingers see plenty of ball, Shore will likely run circles around Newington. If Shore's forwards can shine like they did last weekend, then there is no doubt they can hold their own against Newington's big boys in the middle. While the team will be taking things once week at a time, a win for Shore is essential in preparation for their match against Joeys at Heaven's Pasture in Round 4.
Shoremen to slay the Wyverns 7+
Kings v Joeys @ Castle Greyskull (yes I am bringing it back)
The men hailing from the Hunters Hill region have once again reminded us of how stupid it is to tip against them for the title. All of us should repent for committing this sin. Joeys travel to the pristine lawns of White Oval to take on a Kings side crippled by the graduation of many of their premiership-winning players of 2023 (*cough* Hadley Tonga *cough*). Can Tony George's men cause an upset? My guess is that even Mr. George is doubtful, despite sport at Kings being "a war against Shore, Joeys and Scots. May we be victorious." (direct quote from Tony George at an assembly for HOTR in 2022).
Joeys will have their tails up after marching through Newington in round 1 and preseason favourites, The Scots College, in round 2. Joeys fought against Scots like a dog backed into a corner. Some may say, Joeys have that dog in them. Joeys controlled the entire game, dictating the pace and possession and played extremely aggressively, showing superior fitness and speed to the star-studded Stormtroopers. Should they keep this up, along with immaculate structure, it will be a big ask for the Anglicans to repel the Catholics on this occasion. Joeys may even ruin the sublime condition of White Oval intentionally as a little souvenir for The King's School.
Kings will be hurting after a tough loss to Shore. However, to their credit, it seemed as though they had to fight two battles at once. One battle against the Shoremen on the field, and another against the Shoremen in the crowd. The lack of numbers in support of Kings last week at Northbridge was disappointing. There was an army of wild Shore boys in the Hawker Stand giving each warcry everything they've got and the Kings 1st XV were not able to rely on their crowd to fight back. Being at home, I will assume the amount of support for Kings will greatly increase this weekend at Castle Greyskull. Their is nothing quite like hearing the warcries of the men in military uniforms reverberate around White Oval. Kings will be looking to break down the structure of Joeys as this was where they thrived against Shore last week. Look for Kings to strike when play becomes unstructured. However, the cattle from Heaven's Pasture look like a team on a mission and Kings may not be the team to stop the stampede.
Cattle dogs to break the White and Blue shield 15+
Scots v Riverview @ The Death Star
Perhaps the Stormtroopers of Bellevue Hill will feel a tad more comfortable playing back within close proximity to those of their social class, or knowing that Mummy's Porsche is there to take them to hospital should they sustain a serious injury. I say this because Scots looked well and truly out of their comfort zone against Joeys last weekend. Riverview on the other hand will be looking to make it three on the trot and silence the bagpipes before disappearing back into the Swamp they came from.
You know, I should have seen a Jesuit ambush as a genuine possibility. I remember Riverview being written off at the beginning of last season, too. Look how they ended up. Red-hot Riverview are coming into this matchup with tails pointing higher than a Golden Retriever in an upper-middle-class white family somewhere in New England. While they struggle to put points on against Newington last weekend, I never thought View looked like losing at any point in the match. With speed in the backs combined with excellent fitness, I expect Riverview will aim to play a similar game to Joeys last weekend and exploit Scots seemingly inferior fitness and teamwork.
Scots continue to pester many with strange backline selections. This team has many star-studded individuals, but they play like a team of individuals. Passes haven't been sticking, communication has been lacking and players are playing in positions that are atypical of what many would predict. Last week, I jokingly stated that time will tell us if The Scots College has decided their money is better spent on their new Student Centre Castle than on their prestigious rugby program. Well... I'll just leave that to hang. Scots need to tighten up their game and move as unit. They will be incredibly hard to stop should this come to fruition. Do I see this happening within a week? With the news out of Scots Rugby this week of reshuffling, I would say no as I predict things may be getting a little tense inside the white buildings of Scots.
Ignatians to blow up the Death Star 5+
Shore v Newington @ Stirling Bridge
"PIES PIES PIES!!" chanted the Shore boys after their win against Kings last week... probably. The Shoremen return home to The Bridge from their luxury homes in Cremorne Point, Balmoral, Seaforth and other parts of the North Shore that are seemingly unaffected by the current cost of living crisis. I have insider knowledge that every hairdresser in Mosman is expecting a big day of business on Saturday as the Shore Mums prepare to do God's work in the Northbridge canteen once again. The Wookies are once again away from Stanmore International Airport and will be desperate to notch a win under their belt and silence one of the craziest crowds in the GPS. Quick side note - do Newington finally have... a good warcry? I will be keen to hear the 5 Newington boys in the crowd at Northbridge singing "Power! The Black and The White makes a monster!"
The silver lining for Newington last week was that they defended their hearts out for a significant portion of last week's loss against Riverview. While they never looked like clinching the game, they can certainly take some positives away from last week. The question is: will that loss dampen their spirits? Or will they take confidence from their defensive effort? Let's see what they've got. One thing is certain: This is a must-win game for Newington. A loss to the Shoremen would all but put a line through their season.
Shore reminded us of why a lot of us predicted them to perform strongly this season against Kings last Saturday. Their structure is immaculate and the pace of their backs is arguably their most valuable asset. Should the wingers see plenty of ball, Shore will likely run circles around Newington. If Shore's forwards can shine like they did last weekend, then there is no doubt they can hold their own against Newington's big boys in the middle. While the team will be taking things once week at a time, a win for Shore is essential in preparation for their match against Joeys at Heaven's Pasture in Round 4.
Shoremen to slay the Wyverns 7+
Run The Ball Like Tommy
Bob McCowan (2)
Doing my HSC
Allen Oxlade (6)
He used to play league. #9 who had a similar play-style to Brandon "Cheese" Smith
Run The Ball Like Tommy
Bob McCowan (2)
What's the predictions for the prestigious 9th XV competition this weekend? Are they all playing the same schools as the higher teams???
RTBLT
RTBLT
News.
Big rain this Saturday. Conditions will be hard. Venue predictions.
Stirling Bridge. With a big wind predicted it will be hard for both. Astute kicking needed
Deathstar. Can easily turn to mud due to very poor drainage. Footing will be hard. Wind will swirl.
Castle Grey Skull. Surface will be ok as it is well drained. Swirling wind may prove problematic.
Big rain this Saturday. Conditions will be hard. Venue predictions.
Stirling Bridge. With a big wind predicted it will be hard for both. Astute kicking needed
Deathstar. Can easily turn to mud due to very poor drainage. Footing will be hard. Wind will swirl.
Castle Grey Skull. Surface will be ok as it is well drained. Swirling wind may prove problematic.
Backintheolddays
Billy Sheehan (19)
The wetter the better for Kings, especially against Joeys
Balmain Subbies
Billy Sheehan (19)
How many priests? #sorrynotsorry
Many years ago, when Joeys was an all boarding school, boys trained for rugby three days a week (on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays), played internal colour comp (on Wednesdays and Sundays, often the toughest games most boys played), then another school (on Saturdays) and finished off with a pickup, scratch match against others of their same age on Fridays if they weren't in cadets. If there were eight days a week they would've played rugby eight days. Things hadn't changed much in my son's time there, he found the internal scratch games (mostly country v city) the hardest games he ever played. That includes Colts games for West Harbour against Sydney Uni and others.
This is why Joeys have been and are so dominant at rugby: they've always treated the whole rugby experience as serious fun.
The Joeys internal colour comp concept was introduced to The Southport School some 25 years ago by on Old Boy whose son went to TSS.
Loved colour comp. Teams were mixed up from the C team down. So you could have a C half passing to an E fly half then to a G inside centre. Back then there was little difference. My 16F team drew with the 16Cs. Coaches loved colour comp as they were used as informal trial games.
Teams were given club names from various countries. In the Under 15 comp we were named after Welshman clubs. Mine was Blaenavon. They would pick six teams and name them all. We played Pontypool in the final but lost.
When I ran 14s colour comp I chose French clubs which the kids thought was better than animal names. Games were still played at 100%. Plenty of scores settled.
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FastNFurious
Alfred Walker (16)
1 priest . There aren’t many brothers either, but ignorance shouldn’t get in the way of a stupid joke.
He tries which I respect. Keep firing Subbies.
ItsNotPink
Darby Loudon (17)
A great memory, Lindommer. As a former Joeys boarder, I can confirm that was absolutely the case. We all loved playing and we all trained hard. Pretty much everyone wanted to be in the team above and trained and played accordingly. Joeys is not the only school that embodies these principles but they have been a significant part of Joeys rugby success over the years. The feeling of running onto Joeys #1 in front of the entire school is quite special. I will remember it forever. And turning up to support the 1sts and 2nds rugby remains one of the non-negotiable requirements to attend Joeys. Long may it be so.
Mungo1866
Peter Burge (5)
None- was only ever Marist Brothers but even then they are all retired. The Marist Fathers (priests) live down the road- quite a nice bunch on the whole. The Marist sisters left Hunters Hill a few years ago.
FastNFurious
Alfred Walker (16)
My memory of colour comp is that everyone played in U13s and U14s. Then only Cs and lower after that. There were 2 divisions, A - D and E and below. I have distinct memories of playing in 13s because my blue team won the GF. My only recollection of 14s CC is Archie giving everyone on both teams a fair because someone on the field swore at the bottom of the ruck. When asked by a cheeky 10 why he didn’t just punish the forwards in the ruck, Archie’s swift response was, “you backs already get away with too much standing around in your clean jerseys”.
Archie must have gone soft. In my day he would punched the 10 then given six of the best. Terror built character was his motto.
The Chairman
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Ignatius jumping up and down hearing this. SIRC will be flooded, Shore need to adapt their gameplan. Learn from what happened against SIC.
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