I had a few mates decide to give it ago probably 10 years back and it lasted 1 season. There isn't really a lower standard/social aspect to many of the comps even if you're playing reserve grade. You're getting your head reset button pressed almost every weekend.
You have free beer and pizza??? I’m there! Sign me up!You're not alone in that, which speaks to the effort of your committee to have a thriving club in a higher division. With more teams comes a proportionally higher level of effort to keep the lights on and push ahead, after all.
The point GoR was making: you're in a a rugby area. The eastern fringe of Sydney is more heavily populated with rugby people. so the number and size of the clubs should be proportionally higher. And it is, when you look at the map of Subbies and Premier Clubs.
My club doesn't have the same challenge of Premier Rugby or large Subbies Rugby in the area.
Instead, I've got a dozen rugby league clubs who will pay guys $200 a game or more just to walk onto the field.
I'd say the effort and size of our Committee / Volunteer base to keep 2 teams on the field is proportionally equal to Lindfield's 5+ teams.
(Anecdote: I was out for a walk the other day in my Renegades training shirt, and a young couple were coming the other way. Struck up a conversation as he had a Bunnies training top on, and said he'd heard of us. After urging him to come to training, he asked what the game wage was"Free beer and pizza - we're amateurs", was my reply).
What where the logistics of this in subbies? How did clubs afford to pay players? How much where they getting paid? Was it in every division? Which clubs where the biggest offenders?
You’ll be happy to know everybody stopped payments immediately once we went amateur and nobody was caught out in any wrongdoings….
We don’t talk about that anymore
Do tell....I'd love to hear a Lindfield person's perspective on this....
Haven taken over as CC the following year I do know the situation better than most and I don’t think there is much to add beyond what was reported by subbies and the media. all I’ll say is that payments were made to a player without the club’s knowledge to which subbies, probably rightfully so, came down very hard and it’s taken a long time to fully recover.
Depends on the player and the club. I know of one club a few years ago that was $250 per game and $400 if it’s a win. This was for a guy that would always be picked in the 1st grade. No idea what happens if you a 2nd grader that gets on and that sort of thing.
A lot of Jobs for the boys which included visa sponsorships for our islander friends
I played Rugby Union Juniors, but had a few mates playing C Grade (U19s) Loige after school, so went and had a go. Went straight back to Union after that. Not an enjoyable experience.
Unfortunately the subbies board are too spineless to have a straight back to be able to take their snouts out of the trough to audit clubs / speak to players. Been going on for years and will continue to do so. I won’t point fingers but give you a clue to a certain club that are untouchable Drum*oyne