Southern Inland Rugby 2011

[yourmatesam]

Rebel Tim Davidson's old club!! He was running around for them last year until he signed with the Rebels and was told to play a better standard of rugby and left for Sydney.

They have a Young team this year that are struggling a bit with confidence. When they focus on the task at hand, they are pretty good, but they just aren't stringing these patches together for whole matches. Their 6 Michael McGee is a real standout for them this year.

The majority of the team is made up of local apprentices etc who will be in Young for 4 years minimum so hopefully they are building on something for the future. The town itself is really progressing well, there are new subdivisions going up and they've just done up the town hall, so there is a bit going on in the region at the moment and hopefully this keeps people in the town.

 

[Lindommer]

They have a Young team this year...

Good to see some young 'uns in Young. Should be more of it. If there's a young Young team whatta they call the oldies?

 

[yourmatesam]

If there's a young Young team whatta they call the oldies?

The Crusty Crays!!

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 9 Scores

1st Grade;
Coota 15 d Ag College 5, CSU 36 d RARC 14, Young 31 d Leeton 19, Tumut 26 d City 8, Temora 17 d Waratahs 12, Albury 20 d Griffith 14

2nd Grade;
Ag College 40 d Coota 10, CSU 26 d RARC 10, Waratahs 28 d Temora 15, Tumut 19 d City 12, Leeton 31 d Young 7, Albury 13 d Griffith 0

3rd Grade;
CSU 30 d RARC 0, City 26 d Tumut 10 (Golden Oldies), Griffith 30 d Albury 0

Under 17s;
Young 21 d Coota 20

Next Saturday- Round 10
CSU v Temora, City v Waratahs, Young v Griffith, Tumut v Ag College, Cootamundra v Leeton, Albury v RARC

 

[yourmatesam]

Race to the premier division:

Just some thoughts on the Premier Division/First Division scenario here in SIRU.

Our competition here is a bit irregular as far as the ‘normal’ rugby competition is played, whereby the clubs play each other once (11 rounds) then split into top 6 (Premier Division) and bottom 6 (First Division) for another 5 rounds before a 3 week finals series. For those of you on here who are familiar with the old Riverina competition (Lindommer) this is a throwback to the days of the VPC Shield (Premier) and Byrnes Cup (First).


Let’s look at the final two rounds before the split into Premier Division (Top 6) and First Division (Bottom 6). There are four teams in possible contention for the final two positions in the top six – Albury (33pts), Griffith (29pts), Temora (28pts) and RARC (25pts).


There are some really crucial match ups in the final two weeks before the split for all four teams. Round 10 will see Albury host RARC in a deadest showdown for Premier Division (keep your eyes peeled for this one!!), and the Round 11 match up of Temora v Albury will be another corker, as will RARC v Young.

Round 10

CSU (2) v Temora (6) – the Tuskers need as many bonus points as they can get out of this game.
City (11) v Tahs (3)
Albury (4) v RARC (7) – easily match of the round and will define RARC’s season so far.
Young (8) v Griffith (5) – important for Griffith to secure a win away from the Coro Club.
Coota (10) v Leeton (12)
Tumut (9) v Aggies (1)

Round 11

Tahs v CSU
Temora v Albury – this match will seal Temora’s fate for the top 6.
RARC v Young – a bonus point win here for RARC could see them leap frog Temora.
Griffith v Coota – a win for the Blacks over Cootamundra would guarantee them a top 6 finish.
Leeton v Tumut
Aggies v City

Albury will definitely be match hardy for the Premier Division if they make it with some big games in the final two rounds. Louie Levett is back from Brumbies Provincial duties and will add more starch to the Steamers after their Round 9 win over the Griffith Blacks on the road. Being 5 points clear of 6th place would have to be enough for them to make the top 6.

Temora need as many bonus points as they can muster over the two rounds, this will be a big ask for them without Bill McCrone (Raiders halfback Josh McCrone’s cousin) who really galvanises his team and has been missed for the past three rounds due to a hamstring strain. Temora could potentially lose their final two matches and still make the Premier Division if they are both bonus point losses. One bonus point for Temora could see them make the top 6 based on points differential.

RARC have to beat Albury and Young to guarantee themselves a place in the Premier Division. The RARC boys have had some of their key players away “on course” and missing due to SIRU Rep commitments and with these players back on deck, should put in some solid performances in these two matches. Playing the Steamers at Murrayfield is never easy (particularly if it’s wet this weekend), particularly with so much riding on the match. Albury were unlucky to miss out on a finals spot last year and will want to be in Premier Division again for sure.

Griffith should get up over Young and Coota to cement a position in the Top six. The Blacks were not happy about players being over-looked for SIRU rep selection and have a point to prove after consecutive losses over the past two rounds to CSU and Albury.

 

[Cutter]

Sam thanks for the updates. Really helpful for another exile who is from that region. Who do you support/play for?

Word on the street is that an ex Oz 7s rep who has played professionally in Europe for the last couple of years has moved to Young.

 

[yourmatesam]

Hey Cutter - or is it Hay Cutter? Mate, i used to play for Waratahs, but have long since retired (I last played in 2004). I take it you're from Hay with a name like 'Cutter'?

Who's your man who's just moved to Young? Not one of the Staniforth boys is it? They've had some pedigree running around there last year too with Tim Davidson playing.

It's got to be Graydon Staniforth. Right?

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 10

CSU (2) v Temora (6) – Could be a danger game for the Reddies, although I’m sure the mercurial Joe Tora will have other ideas. Temora will play this game hard and tough, which is testament to their hard working forward pack as exampled by their effort against Waratahs last week. CSU have been able to avoid much of the hype lately (focus being on Aggies and Tahs) but are really starting to string some good results together.

City (11) v Tahs (3) – Everyone loves to hate Waratahs, but none more so than their City counterparts. Although City haven’t made a huge impact this year, they are a proud club and Jarrod Bryant will have is boys keyed for this match. The City imports played well last week under pressure but will need much more committed support from their backrow to make inroads against Tahs. Waratahs forward pack will be light on in comparison to previous years but their outside backs will shine again with the return of Xavier Chigwidden, Dan Selmes and Jack Meagher to the fold.

Albury (4) v RARC (7) – MATCH OF THE ROUND. Well, RARC need to win, it’s as simple as that. If they want to play top 6 they need to win with a bonus point (and next week too). Travelling to Albury will be cold, wet and muddy (and that mud STINKS too!) – just the way the Steamers like it. This game will be a tight forwards contest but I think ultimately it will be won in the backs. RARC have missed Jeremy Nelson since his posting to another base and Albury are cheering that they have home grown boy Justin Wheatley (ex Eastwood) back running around in the blue and gold.

Young (8) v Griffith (5) – This will be a tight one. Griffith don’t traditionally travel well and particularly not to cold towns like Young. The Yabbies have a bit of a hoodoo over the Blacks in recent years and they’ll be looking to aim up for the full 80mins tomorrow against Griffith. While Griffith are deserved favourites going into this one, don’t expect them to walk away with the points at Cranfield Oval.

Coota (10) v Leeton (12) – Battle of the battlers tomorrow. Although Cootamundra are coming off a sensational upset against the undermanned Aggies last week, where, by all reports their smashing defence won them the match, their season has not been impressive so far. Winless Leeton will be trying to come away with some points in this one and tomorrow may be the day to do it. How will Coota react after such an impressive win last week to playing the Phantoms tomorrow??

Tumut (9) v Aggies (1) – Tumut handled City easily last weekend, but this weekend will be a different story. Aggies will be fuming about their loss to Cootamundra last weekend and will be looking to make a statement in the hills at Jarrah Park tomorrow. I would not liked to have been in the sheds following their loss last weekend and expect to see the full strength, well drilled Ag College machine churn out some tries tomorrow.

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 10 Scores

CSU 36 d Temora 19
Waratahs 34 d Wagga City 10
Albury 50 d RARC 7
Griffith 41 d Young 7
Cootamundra 24 d Leeton 12
Ag College 28 d Tumut 19

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 11 Scores

Firstly, apologies for not previewing the final round before the split, the kids have been crook this week and i didn't have the time to get one done!!

Scores are as follows:

1st Grade:

Tahs 29 bt Reddies 24. From all reports this was a cracker of a match (should have been too, there's no love lost between these tow teams and they were sitting 2nd and 3rd respectively). Not sure about the tries scored yet, but these two could be equal second following this match.

Aggies 54 bt City 19

Leeton 26 bt Tumut 24. Upset here, this is Leeton's first win of the season, so good work Phantoms, but i wouldn't have expected it to be against the Bulls.

RARC 53 bt Young 12. This match sealed RARC's fate. They made the top 6.

Albury 64 bt Temora 14. Two tries against the run of play to Temora, but the game was all Albury. Albury's forward pack were very impressive and if Justin Wheatley had packed his driver and not his lob wedge, the score would have been bigger.

Griffith 59 bt Coota 6

2nd Grade;
Waratahs 17 d CSU 13, Ag College 19 d City 14, Griffith 21 d Cootamundra 17, Albury 34 d Temora 31, RARC 40 d Young 12, Leeton 32 d Tumut 19

3rd Grade;
Young 10 d RARC 7, Waratahs 17 d CSU 13, Ag College 15 d City 5

Under 17s;
Griffith 57 d Cootamundra 0, Waratahs 46 d CSU 24

 

[yourmatesam]

Ladders

Ladders

 

[lily]

thanks for keeping us up to date. Take it easy.

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 12

Premier Division – Walsh and Blair Cup

CSU (2) v RARC (6) From all reports CSU played a hard fought game against Tahs last weekend, with the score changing 3 times in the second half of the match. RARC will be keen to show that they are not making up the numbers in Premier Division this weekend, they’ve done well to get into the top tier and will make a good account of themselves against the Reddies. I think CSU will have too much firepower across the park in this one, the Army boys have struggled to make ground in the backs since Jeremy Nelson has been gone and I think Paul Hood will really control the game well for Reddies and run the big RARC forwards around.

Albury (4) v Ag College (1) – MATCH OF THE ROUND. This was a great match in the regular season and will be again at Murrayfield on Saturday. It’s been wet here during the week and the cricket pitch at fortress Murrayfield will be slopping up nicely for this match. While Albury smashed Temora last weekend, Aggies will be a different story particularly at scrum time and in the forwards. I think Albury will test Aggies all the way and with some smart footy from the likes of Justin Wheatley and Jim Lollback, could cause an upset. I think Aggies will be very wary of this match, considering the University holidays are on at the moment, this is a real danger game for Pete Armstrong and his boys.

Waratahs (2) v Griffith (5) Waratahs at home are always hard to beat and Griffith do not traditionally travel well. Griffith have been under-strength the past few weeks with a large number of regular first graders unavailable due to holidays (yes that’s right holidays in the middle of the season) but their backups have been handy. Coming off the back of a tough game against CSU last weekend, the Tahs may struggle with this game a bit as Griffith love getting in the face of their opponents and grinding these games out. I think this game is a game that Waratahs need to really determine where they are at, as they have not been tested with tough back to back so far this year and there is nowhere to hide over the next few rounds.

First Division – Romanos Cup

Tumut (8) v Coota (10) This game has plenty going on, Coota beat Tumut at Coota in round 8, then beat Aggies in round 9, beat Leeton in round 10 but recently got belted by Griffith on the road. Tumut lost to Coota in round 8, got up over City in round 9, got close to Aggies in round 10 and lost to Leeton last weekend. This game is anyone’s guess!! I think Tumut will be really disappointed about losing to Leeton last weekend and will want to make amends this weekend.

Leeton (12) v Temora (7) Temora were not up to standard on Saturday against the Steamers and need to find some confidence in the forwards if they are going to make inroads against Leeton. The Phantoms forward pack is their biggest strength and they will be out to flex some muscle against the Tuskers at Yanco this weekend. If Leeton can control the game from inside their half and play field position I think they could get back to back wins here. Temora really missed Ben Gersbach when he left the field early last weekend and their forward pack just went backwards from then on. Discipline could be an issue for both teams in this match.

Young (9) v City (11) The Yabbies will be looking forward to this game I think, they have a young team who need to gain some confidence and have really performed well considering their age. They have bled some of their colts in second grade this year and these players have also had a taste of first grade too. The Boiled Lollies will really be looking at this game to show what they are capable of. They have shown some good form in patches all season and if they can string some form together leading into the finals, anything can happen. I think Young deserve to be favourites here.

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 12 Scores

1st Grade:

Premier Division

Tahs 38 bt Griffith 0
CSU 54 bt RARC 7
Aggies 17 bt Albury14


First Division

Young 21 bt City 10
Coota 18 bt Tumut 8
Leeton 28 bt Temora 22

2nd Grade:

Premier Division

Ag College 22 d Albury 12, CSU 33 d RARC 0, Waratahs 14 d Griffith 0


First Division

Leeton 15 d Temora 5, City 23 d Young 19, Tumut 24 d Cootamundra 7



Interesting to note that in Premier Division, there was no change to the ladder positions following this round. Tahs and CSU remain tied in second place and that Griffith (5) and RARC (6) both suffered convincing losses.

Temora remain on top of the First Division ladder after their loss to last placed (now second last) Leeton. Tumut dropped from second to fourth in their loss to Coota, allowing Young to climb into second place. Leeton could possibly threaten for a finals spot given their recent form and the opposition they face over the coming weeks.



3rd Grade (McMullen Cup)

CSU 15 drew with RARC 15, Hay 14 d Leeton 7

Under 17s;
Waratahs 30 d Griffith 0, Cootamundra 20 d CSU 15

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 13

Premier Division:

ALBURY (4) V CSU (2) MATCH OF THE ROUND. Well, Albury came so close to knocking Aggies off it wasn’t funny. My spies on the border tell me that it was only a solid defensive effort from the Aggies that held Albury out in the dying minutes of play. CSU were impressive against a gallant RARC outfit last weekend, but were never really threatened in that game. Some ill discipline dropped their numbers to 13 in that match, and if they display the same attitude against Albury, they will pay the price. Albury will love staying at home again this weekend and with a cold weather forecast, will really be looking to assert themselves against the Reddies this weekend on a wet track.

AGGIES (1) V GRIFFITH (5) Not really much to be taken out of Griffith’s walloping by the Tahs last weekend, they will be without Captain-Coach Clint Robinson this weekend and they will miss him dearly. Aggies pulled together against the Steamers last weekend and will be looking to get another win under their belts against the Blacks. If Griffith stay in touch with the top 4 over the following weeks, they could be a chance to sneak into the finals.

RARC (6) V TAHS (2) RARC lost 5/8 Shaun Megahey early in the match against CSU last weekend and without him they really lacked direction in attack. If Shaun is out again this weekend, expect a big win from the boys in blue. Tahs seem to be building nicely into the final rounds of the competition and will be looking to cement their place in the top 4 this weekend. A good win here should guarantee them a finals place.

First Division:

TEMORA (1) V TUMUT (4) This is a tough one to judge. Both teams have been hit by injuries at the wrong end of the season and need to get their campaigns back on track this weekend. Tumut will be fuming with two losses on the trot while Temora are in the same boat and both teams are looking for a win here. My gut feeling is the Tumut forwards will be the difference.

CITY (6) V LEETON (5) The Phantoms are sneaking up the ladder and with some luck may make the finals this year which would be a great reward for their efforts in turning up each week this year. Wagga City need to pull their fingers out, they have recruited well but simply are not getting key players turning up for training or game day and it’s hurting them. They have the skills but do they have the commitment?

COOTA (3) V YOUNG (2) Both teams are coming off solid wins last week against Tumut and City respectively and this game will be a good test for them leading into the finals series. Coota just haven’t been the same without Bill Scott and James Burge and will be looking forward to hosting Young in this local derby. Young need to maintain some discipline coming off their line and hold onto the ball for longer periods of play to really threaten in the back half of the competition.

 

[Empire]

Top job mate - It's great to keep an eye on the 'local' country rugby!

 

[yourmatesam]

Thanks Empire, it's good covering the SIRU scene. Do the Brumbies do a preview/review of the First Division Comp?

 

[yourmatesam]

Round 13 Scores

PREMIER DIVISION:

1st Grade:
Tahs 52 bt RARC 10
Aggies 14 bt Griffith 12
Albury 33 bt CSU 24

2nd Grade;
Ag College 49 d Griffith 7, Waratahs 17 d RARC 5, Albury 34 d CSU 10


FIRST DIVISION:

First Grade:
Temora 28 bt Tumut 24
Coota 20 bt Young 10
City 55 bt Leeton 12

2nd Grade;
Tumut 22 d Temora 10, Leeton 27 d City 10, Young 20 d Coota 10
alsh & Blair Cup


3rd Grade;

CSU 42 d Albury 0, Griffith 5 d Ag College 3, City 34 d Hay 10, Waratahs 22 d RARC 10

Under 17s;
Young 47 d CSU 22, Griffith 41 d Coota 20

 

[yourmatesam]

The Run Home...

1033

We have a General Bye here in SIRU this weekend, which gives our families time to relax for a day without footy before the final 6 weeks get underway! These are my thoughts on who’s who and who will finish where.

Essentially, there is much more competition for spots in the Premier Division, and I think Albury will finish the season in second place purely because of the teams that Waratahs face (I think the Tahs will only win one more game before the finals).

The top four are set for the finals series, we are now playing out the final three rounds to see who gets a second crack come finals time.

In First Division, I reckon the finals teams are set as is. I think Leeton will get off the bottom of the table despite their flogging by City last weekend.


Premier Division

Aggies (1) on 58pts play Tahs (A), RARC (A), CSU (H) Tip 1st
Hard to go past Aggies here, they have done all their travel for the year (all their remaining games are in Wagga) and have the cattle to beat all three of these teams easily. After getting out of jail for the last two weeks, expect the Aggies to fire up and show their full potential. 2010 Grand Final rematch next week will be a great indication of who is who.

Tahs (2) on 56pts play Aggies (H), CSU (A), Albury (H) Tip 4th
Honestly, the Tahs have never put a full strength team on the paddock and have not been the stellar performers they have been in the past three or four years. Some key retirements have hurt them this year (as have injuries) and I would expect the Tahs to take out one win in the final stages of the season.

CSU (3) on 52pts play Griffith (A), Tahs (H), Aggies (A) Tip 3rd
While CSU have been impressive this season, the competition is really heating up leading into the finals. I think they will beat Griffith, but not Aggies or Tahs, although they are a real bogey team for the Tahs.

Albury (4) on 49pts play RARC (A), Griffith (H), Tahs (A) Tip 2nd
They have been building quietly on the border but their secret is out now. Albury confirmed themselves as genuine title contenders when they came oh so close to knocking off Aggies two weeks ago. The run home has some decent away trips, but this may be just the bonding experience the boys need to galvanise them for the finals series. I expect Albury to get up in all three of these matches.

Griffith (5) on 40pts play CSU (H), Albury (A), RARC (H) Tip 5th
The Blacks haven’t really strung too much form together this year. While there have been patches of good form, they haven’t maintained that for extended periods of the season. They showed last week against Aggies that they can match it with the top teams, but doing this week in week out has been their hassle.

RARC (6) on 30pts play Albury (H), Aggies (H), Griffith (A) Tip 6th
The RARC boys will not give up over the coming weeks and will try and scalp Albury and Aggies “on base”. Will they? I doubt it, but they will not go down wondering.


First Division

Temora (1) on 35pts play Coota (A), City (A), Young (H) Tip 1st
I think Temora will just scrape into 1st place here in the First Division comp. They are twelve points clear of second place and I think they’ve got two wins here to round out the season. Finals time will be really interesting for the Tuskers.

Coota (2) on 23pts play Temora (H), Leeton (A), City (H) Tip 2nd
Not a bad draw to run home on for the Tri-Colours, and I think they will run home close winners in all three encounters. Coota would have had a more successful season if not for the retirement of Bill Scott and James Burge.

Tumut (3) on 20pts play City (H), Young (A), Leeton (H) Tip 3rd
The Bulls just haven’t pulled together this year, but will make the finals and anything can happen from there. They can account for all three of these teams, but it will be interesting to see if they do.

Young (3) on 20pts play Leeton (H), Tumut (H), Temora (A) Tip 4th
The Yabbies have welcomed a number of young players to First Grade this year and it will be good for those players to get a taste of finals footy this year. Their draw is favourable in terms of travel, so they should get out of this with two wins.

City (5) on 11pts play Tumut (A), Temora (H), Coota (A) Tip 6th
Honestly, City are a frustrating club to watch. They should have a great thing going on, but it just never seems to happen for them, they always seem to fall away when it counts. I don’t know if it’s mental toughness or attitude, but they can do so much better. They have the ability to beat these three teams, but I don’t think they will.

Leeton (6) on 10pts play Young (A), Coota (H), Tumut (A) Tip 5th
With only one point separating the Phantoms from the Boiled Lollies, I think the boys from the MIA will get there…just. Leeton have strung some wins together recently, and if it wasn’t for a head clash that took out Breakaway Bill Bevan and their loosehead prop early in the game against City, they may have already gotten over them. I think Leeton will jag a win and a bonus point before the season is over.

 

[rugbyfollower]

Great review sam, think your pretty spot on with your predictions, however I wouldn't write tahs off just yet, they do have the best attackers in SIRU, even if their pack is on the smaller side. Their captain will also lead them in the finals series from the front with a never say die attitude for the full 80mins. I expect them to make the GF, but that is just my opinion. its shaping up to be an exciting end of season in the zone!