Southern Inland Rugby 2013

[namtrak]

The key to all of this is to have a strong base from which to work with. Would Don Cameron have taken on the Under 17's if his son wasn't playing? There was also a player of great potential in Alistair O'Riarn who was playing in the front row (possibly Don's favourite position) that would have impacted his drive to take on that coaching role.

You would have to ask Don, but the gods were kind - no doubt. It was almost a one in a generation team, but they did respond well to Dons coaching and their early rugby schooling shows in their command of the rugby basics today.

 

[yourmatesam]

#SIRU2013 ROUND THIRTEEN SCORES:

Premier Division:
First Grade:
Albury 55 bt Ag College 0
Waratahs 35 bt CSU 12
City 15 bt Griffith 3

2nd Grade;
Ag College 27 d Albury 12, CSU 17 d Waratahs 15, City 43 d Griffith 10

First Division:
First Grade:
Leeton 34 bt Young 5
Tumut 12 bt Coota 10

2nd Grade;
Young 24 d Leeton 0, Temora 20 d Deniliquin 15, Tumut 21 bt Coota 20


3rd Grade;
RARC 42 d City 7, Waratahs 19 d CSU 10, Albury 17 d Ag College 7

Under 17s;
Leeton 50 d Young 5

Women's 7- A-Side;
Griffith 26 d City 10, Temora 32 d Ag College 5, Leeton 29 d CSU 0

Next Saturday- Round 14

Premier Division;
Griffith v Wagga waratahs, Wagga City v Wagga ag College, CSU v Albury

1st Division;
Temora v Tumut (Dizey's Day), Cootamundra v Leeton at Illabo,

 

[namtrak]

Albiet a high score, the Aggies have shown the way on how to match the Steamers this year. I am sure that the Aggies brains trust walked away from this game thinking they are a chance.

The scrums were evenly matched, and all that was needed from the Aggies was a defensive effort which mirrored the defensive pattern laid down by the Steamers.

A good intensive game - Richard Turnbulls thoughts would be priceless

 

[namtrak]

Don't even remember writing that! The only thing I would add is that Nathan Bright pulled up sore before the game and didn't play, and someone commented during 2nds that 3 of the best openside breakaways in the competition were running with the dirt trackers. Liam Krautz is holding the position at the moment, but I can tell you that Number 7 in the Albury Steamers is one of the most hotly contested positions in SIRU!!!

 

[Bubba]

Interesting round of results and certainly makes the race for 2,3,4 in W&B Cup very competitive. Really does make for some pressure games this week in the race to the finals. No easy games for anyone here!
Albury seem to be a step up in class for everyone at this point - does it interpret as they've really gone on from 2012 or the rest of us regressed a bit?

 

[ben wal]

Leeton 17s will be missing reneker for their finals push which will hurt them, their star player having a huge impact in previous weeks.

 

[Almost 2 old]

Interesting round of results and certainly makes the race for 2,3,4 in W&B Cup very competitive. Really does make for some pressure games this week in the race to the finals. No easy games for anyone here!
Albury seem to be a step up in class for everyone at this point - does it interpret as they've really gone on from 2012 or the rest of us regressed a bit?

I think Bubba we have a situation where we have one very good team that makes very few actual errors. We have seen this before when teams spend extended time/seasons together. These teams end up getting into a situation where only injuries and dead set bad luck can rob them of the premiership(Waratah's 1988). These teams usually have a very simple game plan with 2 plans ,A & B, and as much as everyone else would like to think that they have their measure the fact is that they don't bcause of desire and familiarity which takes time to build. My advice is forget what team colours they wear and just watch how good they are and then try and replicate it. The teams that come to mind in this ilk were Aggies 1982 - 84, Tahs 1989-90 & 93-94 Army 1996 & 97 Griffith 2002 & 2003 and Ag & Tahs over the last 6 seasons.You can also toss in a very good Grenfell team from 1999 to 2003 in that mix. I know that people will say that "We beat them back in..." but realistically these teams/clubs were very good for bush rugby. We are now probably seeing another good team group go around again that should remain dominant for a while. For my money the best I have seen was the Griffith 2002-03 team. They were very good all across the park.

 

[yourmatesam]

#SIRU2013 Round Fourteen Preview:
If I’ve said this once, I’ve said this a million times this year – things are really heating up at the moment with our competition. Teams are really needing to get some runs on the board in the Premier Division Top 4 as competition points are becoming increasingly important at this stage of the season. For this reason, I was tempted to pick the City v Aggies match as the Match of the Round as it is an important game, as is the Griffith v Waratahs match.

There are only three weeks to go in the season before the 2013 Finals Series and only limited chances for those teams around the 3rd to 6th mark to move up the ladder. I think the Top 4 will not be finalised until the final round of the competition and I believe there will be considerable movement amongst the Premier Division. The coaches in the Premier Division will be wearing out their calculators over the next few weeks while they grind the numbers to see where they’ll end up – It’s going to be a season defining few weeks for a number of clubs which is great for the competition.

Whilst my primary focus since the split has been on the Premier Division because things are very tight there, the First Division also has a lot to play for over the coming weeks, there are only 7 competition points separating the top 3 teams in the First Division which means that there is plenty on offer for each team week in week out. It gets even tighter when you compare competition points from 5th to 9th on the ladder.

Premier Division:
Griffith (6) v Waratahs (4)
This game is an important match for the Premier Division, if Griffith and City bag wins this round, the final two rounds become even more critical to the Top 4 and even more so if Griffith and Aggies get up.

Waratahs will be buoyed by their recent win over CSU in some pretty trying conditions and will be keen to continue with the form that their forward pack showed in that match. Having said that, Waratahs lost to Griffith at the Coro Club last round and Griffith will be stronger at home than they were on the road last week.

The Blacks have plenty to play for as a win to the Blacks this weekend could catapult them into finals contention depending on other results.

City (3) v Ag College (5)
Aggies were taught a rugby lesson last week by the Steamers but were able to come out of the game with some insight into the Steamers patterns and what is required to beat them. City were their own worst enemy last week and will need to iron out some kinks in their backline in preparation for next weekend.

A real highlight of the City style this year has been their defence. They have been making some good tackles when it counts which is reflected in them having the 2nd best defensive record behind Albury. This will be a key for them in this match, they are missing some key players in attack which will mean they need to ensure their defence is A+. Aggies will be keen to bounce back from the loss to the Steamers and this match will highlight if they are a chance of making the finals this year.

Whilst this match is not match of the round, it is a very important match for both clubs!

CSU (2) v Albury (1) – Match of the Round
CSU are the team that have pushed Albury the most this season, but have not been able to bag any wins recently. The Reddies will need to start this game by firing on all cylinders if they want to stay in contact for the rampant Albury Steamers. Building pressure and defending well will be the keys for the Reddies, Albury need to be wary of Brett Wendt also. This match will be a big game for the smaller Red forward pack who will be giving away some size to the Steamers.

What to say about Albury? They need to maintain their standards week in week out at the moment. As @almost2old said, they’ve been together for a while now and they are playing some good footy, combinations have had time to grow, their set piece has matured and is a highlight of their game, they are taking smart options in attack and they are driven by an agonising one point loss in last year’s GF.

The track at Beres Ellwood will be in mint condition for this hit out, the weather looks to be warm and sunny which will allow both teams to play expansive, open rugby. From what I’ve heard this year, the Steamers have been playing well in all conditions, but CSU have fared better on a dry track. This will be a good game of footy, with plenty riding on this match for CSU as the competition really tightens up in the final few rounds.

First Division:
Temora (7) v Tumut (10) – Dizey’s Day
This will be a great day of rugby for anyone who is keen to experience a real country rugby outing. Dizey’s Day is put on in memory of Dianne “Dizey” Boom and has been a great supporter of many local charities, raising over $80K in the preceding 8 years. Get along if you’re in the area, it’s worth it.

The Tuskers will have plenty of motivation this week in front of a larger than usual home crowd, their 2013 season has been a solid effort so far and if the Tuskers are going to mix it with the Premier Division, they need to aim up for these games. This match is a potential preview of week one of the Finals Series this year which will be added motivation for both teams.

Young (11) v Deniliquin – 2nd Grade Only

Coota (8) v Leeton (9) – Illabo Ambush
The Tri-Colours are playing their annual “Illabo Ambush” this weekend when they host the Leeton Phantoms, this match is at another venue that highlights what Country Rugby is all about. Hessian change rooms with dirt floors, showers located a few kms from the ground, tiny town complete with pub, engineers workshop and a central school – it’s got the lot.

As with the Temora v Tumut clash, this match previews round one of the 2013 Finals Series and there is plenty to play for here for these two teams. This match will be very close, there is really not much that separates these two teams and this match could go either way.

 

[yourmatesam]

#SIRU2013 Round Fourteen Results
Premier Division:
First Grade:
Albury 57 bt CSU 21
City 31 bt Aggies 20
Waratahs 36 bt Griffith 11

First Division:
First Grade:
Temora 60 bt Tumut 16
Leeton 32 bt Coota 31

 

[No.8]

#SIRU2013 Round Fourteen Results
Premier Division:
First Grade:
Albury 57 bt CSU 21
City 31 bt Aggies 20
Waratahs 36 bt Griffith 11

First Division:
First Grade:
Temora 60 bt Tumut 16
Leeton 32 bt Coota 31

Far out Albury again - do you have their for and agaisnt for the season?

 

[Almost 2 old]

Far out Albury again - do you have their for and agaisnt for the season?

Yep.... 789 to 112 for +677. Off the top of my head I am not sure if this is the highest as I think a Griffith team may hold the record. I will have to go see Mick to find out for sure....

 

[No.8]

Yep.. 789 to 112 for +677. Off the top of my head I am not sure if this is the highest as I think a Griffith team may hold the record. I will have to go see Mick to find out for sure..

lol holy shit...

 

[namtrak]

Anyone got a line on how the finals will work this year?

From what I understand the top four from the Walsh and Blair 1st grade play off in Wagga in the first week.

Then the bottom 2 from Walsh and Blair play the top 2 from the Romano's division in ???

And as for the 2nd grade sides Ive got no idea.

 

[yourmatesam]

namtrak The 2013 Finals Series will be played over three weeks, Second Grade is the same format as First Grade. 3rd Grade and Under 17's follow a standard top 4 finals series. The Women's 7 a side competition follow the same format as First Division.

Week One:
Premier Division:
Game A - 1st v 2nd, Game B - 3rd v 4th

First Division:
Game C - 7th v 10th, Game D - 8th v 9th

Week Two:
Premier Division:
Game E - Loser Game A v Winner Game B

First Division:
Game F - 5th v Winner Game D, Game G - 6th v Winner Game C

Week Three:
Premier Division:
Winner Game A v Winner Game E

First Division:
Winner Game F v Winner Game G

There are a total of 14 games in Week One, 10 games in Week Two and 7 games on Grand Final Day. Week One and Three will be played at Conolly Park, Wagga while Week Two will be played at two separate venues which will be determined following the completion of Week One of the finals.

 

[yourmatesam]

#SIRU2013 Round Fifteen Preview:
PREMIER DIVISION:
Griffith (6) v CSU (3)
Reddies have plenty to play for in this match, a win this week guarantees a finals berth for them and they will be as keen as mustard to bag a win in the MIA this weekend.

CSU played some decent rugby against the barnstorming Steamers last week and need to take the positives out of last weekend's loss into this hitout with the Blacks. My spies at Coro Club oval tell me that the Blacks were very tough for Waratahs to get past last weekend which will be a positive sign for them leading into this game.


Waratahs (4) v Ag College (5)
This match may well decide the season of both these clubs. Every club goes through peaks and troughs and it is clear that Aggies are not where they were last year but that they will throw everything they have at the Tahs this weekend. This match is do or die and that's all there is to say about it.

Waratahs have been well served by a recent injection of some international flavour which will be interesting to see where their new recruits end up in a few weeks time. The match up to keep an eye on in this game will be the new comer Jake Eaglesham up against Dave Armstrong at No8, these two guys have some very similar characteristics and it will be worth watching these two guys go at it.

Both teams are blessed with some solid forwards, for me this match will come down to how the respective backlines gel for the occasion.

In other news for the club, Waratahs will be wearing Cerise this weekend for their ladies day.

Albury (1) v City (2) - Match of the Round

Another "top of the table" hit out for the Steamers and a potential preview of Week One of the Finals this weekend.

Albury were impressive in their match against CSU last weekend, particularly seeing how strong their support play was and the ability to offload to players in good position highlights how hard these players are working for each other on the field. The Steamers set piece was strong for the day, with some solid mauling efforts on display.

I think City should be entering this fray confident in their abilities. They are also playing some good footy and they need to approach this match with a positive mindset. City's strength in recent years has definitely been their forward pack but they have added some potency to their attack this year in the backline - and they need their backline to fire this weekend.

Albury appear to be blessed with depth in the latter stages of the season and it was surprising to see a starting 2nd grade backline of Wheatley (10) to Hannaford (12) to Levett (13) who all featured in the Steamers 1st XV GF team last year. From memory, Tom Rowan was also in 2nd's last week. This depth is going to be the deciding factor for mine, City can match the Steamers for extended periods, but Albury have a strong depth and quality in those numbers that will make life hard for the Boiled Lollies this weekend.

FIRST DIVISION:
Leeton (8) v Deni - 2nd Grade Only

Coota (9) v Temora (7)
This match was a really exciting game in Round 10 and came right down to the final minutes of the game before it was decided by a try very close to fulltime by Bill McCrone and it has all the hallmarks of being equally as exciting this weekend.

Both teams have plenty to play for, Coota are trying to climb the ladder while Temora are trying to fend off the challengers. The Tuskers are playing with confidence which is generating some good results for them while the Tricolours need to inject some life into their 2013 season and what better time to do it?
Young (11) v Tumut (10)
Both teams are playing for pride this weekend and ultimately this game will come down to the team who decides to show up on the day. This game is a 50/50 for both teams, Tumut are coming into this match with successive losses under their belts and the Yabbies know that this is their last chance to bag a win for 2013.

 

[yourmatesam]

#SIRU2013 Round Fifteen Results:
Premier Division:
First Grade:
Albury 54 bt City 10
Waratahs 31 bt Aggies 27
CSU 24 bt Griffith 22

2nd Grade;
Albury 40 d City 7, Waratahs 12 d Ag College 7, CSU 43 d Griffith 29

First Division:
First Grade:
Temora 31 bt Coota 15
Tumut 36 bt Young 27

2nd Grade;
Temora 26 d Coota 8, Young 26 d Tumut 0, Leeton 24 d Deniliquin 17


3rd Grade;
Hay 60 d Ag College (1) 0, Waratahs 28 d Ag College (2) 14, Albury 19 drew with City 19


Under 17s;
Wagga City 17 d Young 0

Women's 7- A-Side;
Leeton 47 d Ag College 7, City 55 d Albury 0

Next Saturday - Round 16 (Final Round)

Premier Division (Double Header at CSU)
CSU v Wagga City,Wagga Ag College v Griffith, Wagga Waratahs v Albury

1st Division;
Tumut v Leeton, Young v Temora

 

[namtrak]

More of the same for the Steamers. Slippery day making it difficult for clean rugby.

The Steamers were all but error free (I counted about 4) and City put it to them the whole game. I think that City will take the same out of this game that Aggies and Reddies did. That is, they can match the Steamers if they can play intense, error free, aggressive rugby for 80 minutes. Big if.

 

[Almost 2 old]

Very interesting game at CRP between Ag & Tah's. Well reffed by Delge. Both sides looked nervous in attack for the whole game but when they got it right they were both very good. Any mistake was punished by the other team very quickly. Looked very much like one of those "arm wrestle semifinals". My sums has Albury 74 pts and City Tahs & Reddies all on 50 pts with City(2) & Reddies(4) to play each other. Makes for a very interesting last week with all sorts of mathematical possibilities for 2nd 3rd & 4th. Just as a side note the 2nd grade is just as complicated as 3rd 4th & 5th are separated by 3pts with Tah's(3) & Albury(4) playing each other. Have not had a close look at the 1st Div yet....

 

[yourmatesam]

My sums has Albury 74 pts and City Tahs & Reddies all on 50 pts with City(2) & Reddies(4) to play each other. Makes for a very interesting last week with all sorts of mathematical possibilities for 2nd 3rd & 4th. Just as a side note the 2nd grade is just as complicated as 3rd 4th & 5th are separated by 3pts with Tah's(3) & Albury(4) playing each other. Have not had a close look at the 1st Div yet..

I had a quick look at the 2nd grade scenario this morning also. Albury seem to have come right into contention in the Premier Division 2nd Grade since the split.

The ladder looks like this:
Ag College 64, City 48, Waratahs 44, Albury 43, Griffith 41, CSU 39

With a Final Round of Tahs (3) v Albury (4), Ag (1) v Griffith (5) and City (2) v CSU (6) and only 5 points separating 3rd to 6th, it's anyone's guess what the final makeup of the Premier Division 2nd Grade will look like.

I hear Hunters have a special on abacus this week.


Premier Division First Grade Ladder:
Albury (74), CSU (51), City (50), Tahs (50), Aggies (39) Griffith (34)
Final Round is Tahs (4) v Albury (1), Ag (5) v Griffith (6) and CSU (2) v City (3) and ONE competition point splitting 2nd to 4th, the final makeup for the 2013 Finals Series will come down to the wire.

I'm looking forward to Saturday already!

 

[Bubba]

Looks like its going to be interesting day for Rugby in Wagga this Saturday. 4 senior games at Beres Ellwood plus the clash at Connolly makes for a rugby tragic's heart start beating a bit faster! Having seen the Albury juggernaut up close last Saturday , I think its fair to say they are a deserved minor premier.

Of the 6 first and second grade games only one (aggies v blacks 1st grade) has no bearing on the final make up of the semi's. I'm with yourmatesam - cant wait !