It is strange - is something is going down?
Most guys want to play in the highest grade they can except at Chipsy Wood!
I won’t poke the South’s bear and dare to ask - please explain!
I have had a more than 50 year connection with Souths and have a close association with Reggies and 1st Grade.
All this rubbish that guys don't want to play 1st Grade, and we are stacking in 2nds and 3rds is absolute rot. I see Reggies players before every session speaking with coaches about what they need to do to play Prems.
The club has had a full rebuild which is not finished. Prems regularly run out up to 10 players who came through the Colts system and Reggies do the same. The Prems and Reggies players are the same age and in most positions they are on similar levels. Prems are building something, which in the next year or 2, is going to blossom in to a Premiership.
3rds and Reggies are more advanced with results as the competions are easier, Reggies won the comp last year, 3rds were minor Premiers and Grand Finalists(after receiving the Wooden Spoon the previous year) and 4ths were Grand Finalists. This is testament to the work done on the rebuild and changes in the club like no fresh benches and selecting 1st to 5th Grade on merit each week.
South's have taken an approach to rebuild that differs to a club like Wests who have an approach to parachute a whole team in, often week to week, the majority with no previous ties to the club. I would be more concerned with why your Reserve Grade is running 7th when you are running out a semi professional team in 1st Grade. I would also be more concerned with what the state of your club will be when the money runs out and the coach leaves and all the players follow, maybe then you might have to take a sustainable approach to building a club. I would also probably keep my nose out of South's when your club has not won a competition in any senior grade other than your flagship Friday night team, since 2006.