As a long-standing member of the Woods, I'm very concerned about the direction the club is heading in. First there's the sacking of two First Grade coaches in as many years and the manner in which it was done leading up to the finals. I am still perplexed why Batger and Telfer deserved to go. Then there was the appointment of Anthony Griffen, an ex-NRL coach, as Director of Rugby and now Head Coach for 2026. I don't know what his Rugby credentials are, but is his appointment behind a lot of the instability at the club? Telfer has now gone back to Gordon and apparently taken some of his prodigies with him. Wouldn't it be another ' up yours' if Gordon wins the premiership next year?
Another festering issue is the time it is taking to relocate to Castle Hill. It's been going on for too long. It was recently reported that an action group in The Hills is fighting the Hills Shire Council to stop the redevelopment of the Fred Caterson Reserve for Eastwood's new home ground. So far we are told that it could happen sometime in 2026, but nothing appears to be certain, despite assurances from the club. It's just not good enough.
I'm an old fart who has lived in the Eastwood-Epping area for most of my life, going back to the days when the club played at Eastwood Oval, before moving to T G Millner. I still live there. I understand that the demographics have changed dramatically over the past few decades and the club has lost a lot of its members who have died off or moved away, not to mention the decline in sponsorship from local businesses. Other clubs have also faced the same dilemma.
Moving to The Hills, where apparently the majority of its membership now resides, was probably the right decision, but there are times when I wonder whether there may have been other options without deserting T G. Pity Ryde Council didn't offer some support instead of belatedly trying to stop T G's redevelopment after the horse has bolted. To some extent, Gordon are in a similar situation with the changing demographics on the North Shore, but they are staying at Chatswood.
With the latest Pacifika fiasco, I'm looking forward to the forthcoming AGM.
