Well, First Grade finally lost a game - 8-7 - to Harlequins today after 39 on the trot. The 'Quins were definitely up for it and we suffered a few crucial injuries early on, combined with the conditions and (to a significant degree) the ref we went down 8-0 after 30 minutes and never got it back. I didn't get on and I'm sure Lindommer or Scarfman will be along shortly with photos of my fat arse on the bench
I never expected to get on either unless we were up by 20 with 3 minutes to go. In those conditions it was never going to happen, though a win was never far away. Jeez the 'Quins boys showed some committment too!
Second Grade went down as I expected to a far smarter Oakhill team - 16-7. We got in front 7-5 at one point but never clawed it back. I also sat on the bench for this game but never really expected to get on ahead of the 2 starting props and 2 reserve props. I wasn't the only one and several guys at the postmatch drinks are also quite hacked off at the moment though I've consoled them with the knowledge that I'll be there for them next year if they want to start a Third Grade with the other discard white boys
It's not the losses that hurt - its the fact we weren't considered good enough to make a difference, despite the time and effort we committed to the cause.
Second Grade have now made the grand final two years running after beating the minor premiers in the Major Semi. In both cases they've never looked like they'll finish it off. In both years its the same pattern too: guys like me keeps things running for the whole year (win or lose) and then when finals time comes around, people start making appearances at games and never at training and getting the nod.
So that was a fun season and I sort of achieved my goal of becoming a starting second grade prop - I played a total of 18 times (1 game was against our Second Grade when Roseville didn't show up), 7 times as starting prop (3 for Firsts), 7 as bench prop (4 for Firsts). We're still the club champions and may look to add a Third Grade to proceedings if things go well during pre-season signup. But shit we're short of backs so that may hold us back.
My aim next year will be to move to hooker - another position we're a little short on - after spending some time over summer losing some weight. I'll still play prop if we need it of course.
The moral of the story is: don't give them any reason to drop you.