Morning Gents. Long time reader, first time poster. First up, well done on the coverage, discussions and opinions - was an awesome change to stumble across you blokes. Good to mix some piss-taking with some genuine footy knowledge.
Better declare my bias up front, lest I be accused of something later on. I'm a Randwick and Joeys tragic, which is balanced by a firm belief in the beauty of bush footy and the adrenalin rush of schools rugby. Nothing better than a Saturday arvo at Hunters Hill, Coogee or up in Armidale.
The discussion regarding the apparent demise of Joeys prompted me to register and post. I don't think things are quite as dire as they seem. Joeys had a golden run 2004-07, headlined by KB (Kurtley Beale) for most of it, with a pretty handy support cast including Pauliasi T, Cutch, Pete Bethem, Nathan Seivert, Sippa T, Fitzy, Tilse and a thousand others.
They got done in 2008 by Riverview in the mud and slop, and by Kings in the final round. Both were top quality games of footy. A few trial season injuries to senior blokes meant the '08 team was very very young. As a consequence, big things were expected of those blokes when they returned in 2009. They started well, blowing away Kings and Shore in the trials, putting 30-odd points on each. Then the comp started. The Joeys / View game last year was a belter, one try each, with discipline costing Joeys big time (three yellow cards) A couple of penalty goals were the difference. The following week, Joeys were blown away by Kings, who went on to humble Riverview and tie the Premiership.
The Sat night after the Kings game, four of the year 12 team members got done for having a beer in the dorms, and were sent home for a week. This meant they were unavailable for the Shore game. Add to that a couple of key injuries, and the team was a mix of 1st XV / 2nd XV and 16As. Boydy described the Joeys effort in that Shore game as the most corageous display he can remember. The goal line defence, holding out approx 25 phases after the bell, only for Shore to finally get across the line, epitomised all that is wonderful about schools footy. The Joeys '09 team didn't win the comp, but the guts the remaining squad members showed that day won a lot of fans.
Don't read too much into the 2010 Auggies and Kings trial results. Auggies will continue to touch Joeys up every year if their calendars remain unchanged. Auggies generally play 5-6 tough trials before they venture to Hunters Hill, and it is always Joeys first hit out, with a number of top line fellas not playing. That's life, just gotta cop it as a valuable education for the young blokes in the Joeys system. The smashing at the hands of Kings, whilst ugly, is still only a trial. There's been a few dramas with the Joeys 'go to' guy, the no 10. Good quality young indigenous kid, nice bloke, helluva footballer. Reality is, life outside the school walls is tougher for some than others, and throws up a few added challenges. He'll be back, hopefully this weekend.
Joeys will be small again in 2010, but I think they'll be fast, with a bit more individual flair than they could boast in 2008-09. Other schools may have poured lots of money into rugby programs, the day boy / boarder breakdown is changing, the rugby calendars have been all over the shop in the last three years, but at the end of the day, I'll still back Boydy and Tice to keep producing footballers at an amazing rate. Watch this space, the Mighty Cerise and Blue have lost a few games, they're human, but they'll never die.
Shit, that was intense for a first post hey?
