Sydney Subbies 2013

[Rugby Central]

As even the fun of Subbies gets serious early these days, thought it was time to start talking up next year. Here's some conversation starters.

Who do you barrack for when Balmian plays Drummoyne?
Will Brothers continue their meteoric rise?
Will Under 85kgs continue?
Any Player/Coaching movements of note?

Anything Subbies, anything goes

 

[SackRobbie]

Looks like Briars have decided to pay their 1st graders in 2013 -

http://www.briarsrugbyunion.com/uncategorized/the-work-so-far-for-2013/

Objectives of the Club For 2013

Unanimously it was agreed that Briars Rugby’s objective for 2013 is to win the club championships in Division 3

Discussion of Existing and Future Player Stocks

Overview

The Subbies Rugby Union landscape is changing, Briars needs to evolve and we need to acknowledge that to be competitive in Subbies Rugby we need to attract on a sustained basis a calibre of player that we do not have the means to obtain organically. i.e. first grade players are not walking in off the street to play, and we are competing in rugby heartland against, Drummoyne, Balmain, Petersham, St Pats, and West Harbour

Outcome

To realise our 2013 objectives Briars Rugby Committee unanimously voted that in 2013 and beyond Briars top tier players will be renumerated

High level plan to do this

• Briars will pay the position not the player, so if you play 1st grade you will be eligible for some form of remuneration
• The Briars culture to be preserved, and renumerated players will be required to participate in a minimum level of Briars events

 

[barbarian]

Yes, that page had my favourite typo of the year so far:

Briars top tier players will be renumerated

Priceless.

Have actually heard they are offering a fair bit of cash too, and have recruited some new coaches as well.

Will be interesting to see how it pans out- Briars were struggling big time at the end of last season. They stacked their 3rd grade side and that pissed off a lot of people in all grades. A lot of unhappy campers at the end of the year, I wonder if this will turn it around.

I am skeptical of the view that paying players is the silver bullet to improve your club.
.

 

[SackRobbie]

I have a little inside knowledge of NSW Subbies & Shute Shield competitions so here’s my expectations of the 2013 Subbies season. Shute Shield to follow soon.

There is no doubt the calibre of teams and players is getting better by the year in Subbies. In my opinion some of these Subbies Clubs are better organised than Shute Shield teams. Personally I think there should be promotion & relegation but with Shute Shield teams clinging on to their wedge that is dubious. Regardless here’s my thoughts on what promises to be a great year.

Division 1:

Semis: Drummoyne, St Pats, Balmain & Colleagues to fight it out.
GF: Colleagues v Drummoyne

Colleagues will come back strong after a disappointing year by their standards. They rested on their laurels from all reports last year. Expect them to challenge in all Cups.
St Pats to pull out all stops to go one better this year. I hear their player payments are again healthy and they are recruiting well.
Balmain should do well after a big year last year taking out all honours. Question mark over the step up in class. Smart Club though so you think they’d know what was coming.
Drummoyne will no doubt battle it out in Kentwell. I hear they have loosened the purse strings even further and will be out to show new kids on the block Balmain that they are the dominant force in the inner West. The local derby could be a blood bath!

Relegation tip: Old Iggies

Division 2:

Semi’s: Brothers, UNSW, Oatley, Lindfield
GF: Brothers to beat UNSW

Brothers - we have all seen the good job they have done rebuilding the Club. I expect them to once again win the Club Champs and be in Div 1 in 2014 – a remarkable rise for a Club that was forced to play Div 4 just two years ago because of Club numbers.
UNSW should really be in Div 1. With a great ground and resources to match this Club must be lacking in the front office to be languishing in Div 2. I expect to see a change this year and Uni step it up again this year.
Oatley had a good 1st grade team but lacked a lot else. With the Club Champs points stacked towards 1st grade I would expect them to be up there again.

All other teams to be cannon fodder.

Promotion tip: Brothers
Relegation tip: St Ives

Division 3:

Semis: Blue Mountains, UWSH, Waverley, Hills

Blue Mountains will again dominate Div 3. They have a grave yard out there at Lapstone and I don’t expect anything to change there.
UWSH should do a lot better than they do each year. Well resourced, big backyard, captive audience. Insular thought process though.
Waverley were once a Subbies powerhouse but poor management and too nig a reliance on travellers brought them unstuck. With a superb ground and a good catchment area they should be in Div 1 really.
Hills have had some good young kids coming through for the past few years. Will they stay on? Who knows but expect to see them win some big a big margin and lose some by a big margin.

Promotion tip: Blueys (but they hate Div 2 because of the travel so they may not want to go up.

Division 5:

GF: Redfield v Sydney Irish

Redfield are undefeated in the past 2 seasons. We expect that to change when they face new Club Sydney Irish who I think will be a chance for Div 3 in 2014 the way they are building. Redfield are red hot and well managed so they should retain their players but will be pushed all the way.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Sydney Convicts are in Div 4 are they not?

They have a big year next year as they build up towards defending The Mark Bingham Cup, at home, in 2014.

 

[mark_s]

Is div 4 back this year?

 

[Crashy]

Barker old boys to be a force in division 2 after being relegated again. Balmain will find div 1 harder than they think.
Newport have recruited some Fijian firepower I hear.
If only subbies could promote the under 85 kg comp properly, theynwouldnhave a truckload of teams.
New rugby now provide zero funding to subbies after previously providing 75k. Jeez thx guys.

 

[barbarian]

Apparently Balmain start training this week, and are spruiking a new Wallaby recruit.

Since Ryan Cross has apparently hung up the boots, they are due a new 'marquee'.

As for us at KOBs, we are making an ambitious play for Israel Folau- offering him unlimited free BBQ items and a free polo, as well as 10% off his fees. It can only be a matter of time before the phone starts ringing.......
.

 

[Camo]

Apparently Balmain start training this week, and are spruiking a new Wallaby recruit.
Since Ryan Cross has apparently hung up the boots, they are due a new 'marquee'.
.

Yep Baa Baa, training has started for the Muzzled Wolves with some healthy numbers so far.
Over summer we also conduct some beach training on Saturday's and social touch on Sunday that the guys get a buzz from by mixing it up.

Interested to hear who our Wallaby recruit is?....and no, you can't count our Supercoach- Anthony Ekert

 

[SackRobbie]

I am hearing Briars are in such a state that they have asked NSW Subbies if they can drop down to Div 4 next year. That would be a massive fall from grace.

I am also hearing that Newport have been recuiting heavily for Div 2 and Brothers have a good prop coming over from Grade. That would be the final piece in the puzzle for Briars I believe.

 

[Prodigy]

I am hearing Briars are in such a state that they have asked NSW Subbies if they can drop down to Div 4 next year. That would be a massive fall from grace.

I am also hearing that Newport have been recuiting heavily for Div 2 and Brothers have a good prop coming over from Grade. That would be the final piece in the puzzle for Briars I believe.

That would be a terrible fall from grace for Briars. They are a very proud club, but I wonder if this is going to become more and more common - there were several clubs that struggled to field four teams in Division 3 last year - St George, Macquarie Uni & Hornsby to name a few.

With rugby no longer seeming as strong and the older guys moving on, I wonder, in 10 years time, how many clubs will still exist - especially those without junior clubs.

On the Briars website, they have stated that they have plans to remunerate their first grade team. I wonder if this will still be the case if they head to Division 4....

 

[barbarian]

Yep Baa Baa, training has started for the Muzzled Wolves with some healthy numbers so far.
Over summer we also conduct some beach training on Saturday's and social touch on Sunday that the guys get a buzz from by mixing it up.

Interested to hear who our Wallaby recruit is?..and no, you can't count our Supercoach- Anthony Ekert

Of course!

My theory was that it was AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), given his close ties to Drew and to a lesser extent Gits. He's connected to Norths, but he isn't a local so could probably be convinced (no doubt you've tried). However he wouldn't be at training now, so that probably rules him out surely?
.

 

[Camo]

Of course!

My theory was that it was AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), given his close ties to Drew and to a lesser extent Gits. He's connected to Norths, but he isn't a local so could probably be convinced (no doubt you've tried). However he wouldn't be at training now, so that probably rules him out surely?
.

Ha.......Not a bad thought process in place there mate..
No doubt, he would look the goods in Black and Gold!

but.......I can neither confirm nor deny.......

 

[barbarian]

Haha you sly bastards.

We are still looking for a marquee at KOBs, since our talks with Israel Folau fell through. He wanted free BBQ AND beer, what a greedy prick. We just aren't that type of club.

So now we are in the market for Dan Carter. As he is a better player than Israel, we are looking at giving him a whopping 15% off his rego fees. Surely that's an offer he can't refuse.
.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Haha you sly bastards.

We are still looking for a marquee at KOBs, since our talks with Israel Folau fell through. He wanted free BBQ AND beer, what a greedy prick. We just aren't that type of club.

So now we are in the market for Dan Carter. As he is a better player than Israel, we are looking at giving him a whopping 15% off his rego fees. Surely that's an offer he can't refuse.
.

KOB = western sydney: keep us all happy over on the IF thread!

 

[Crashy]

Inside Shoulder - How are Kobbies looking this year? We at BOBs are coming down to Div 2(again...) and notice you guys found the drop quite a tough one. Div 1 can be a brutal one for clubs that dont really have the resources and structure to compete, so BOBS are putting a lot in to ensure 2013 will be a good one. Will be interesting to see how Balmain go and am also looking forward to butting heads with CBOBs again after their few years down the divisions...ah the ever changing subbies landscape..

 

[barbarian]

I'm the KOBs contact Crash, not IS.

We are looking OK. We struggled a bit last year- started the season well but lost a few crucial players in high grades to injury/overseas and it really took the wind out of our sails.

We have just appointed a new 1st grade coach, and are going on a big recruitment blitz. We are cautiously optimistic of a good season.
.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I'm the KOBs contact Crash, not IS.

We are looking OK. We struggled a bit last year- started the season well but lost a few crucial players in high grades to injury/overseas and it really took the wind out of our sails.

We have just appointed a new 1st grade coach, and are going on a big recruitment blitz. We are cautiously optimistic of a good season.
.

Should have left it to me - I could have organised your whole season as undefeated premiers with a little false info

 

[Jonathan Walsh]

I have a little inside knowledge of NSW Subbies & Shute Shield competitions so here’s my expectations of the 2013 Subbies season. Shute Shield to follow soon.

There is no doubt the calibre of teams and players is getting better by the year in Subbies. In my opinion some of these Subbies Clubs are better organised than Shute Shield teams. Personally I think there should be promotion & relegation but with Shute Shield teams clinging on to their wedge that is dubious. Regardless here’s my thoughts on what promises to be a great year.

Division 1:

Semis: Drummoyne, St Pats, Balmain & Colleagues to fight it out.
GF: Colleagues v Drummoyne

Colleagues will come back strong after a disappointing year by their standards. They rested on their laurels from all reports last year. Expect them to challenge in all Cups.
St Pats to pull out all stops to go one better this year. I hear their player payments are again healthy and they are recruiting well.
Balmain should do well after a big year last year taking out all honours. Question mark over the step up in class. Smart Club though so you think they’d know what was coming.
Drummoyne will no doubt battle it out in Kentwell. I hear they have loosened the purse strings even further and will be out to show new kids on the block Balmain that they are the dominant force in the inner West. The local derby could be a blood bath!

Relegation tip: Old Iggies

Division 2:

Semi’s: Brothers, UNSW, Oatley, Lindfield
GF: Brothers to beat UNSW

Brothers - we have all seen the good job they have done rebuilding the Club. I expect them to once again win the Club Champs and be in Div 1 in 2014 – a remarkable rise for a Club that was forced to play Div 4 just two years ago because of Club numbers.
UNSW should really be in Div 1. With a great ground and resources to match this Club must be lacking in the front office to be languishing in Div 2. I expect to see a change this year and Uni step it up again this year.
Oatley had a good 1st grade team but lacked a lot else. With the Club Champs points stacked towards 1st grade I would expect them to be up there again.

All other teams to be cannon fodder.

Promotion tip: Brothers
Relegation tip: St Ives

Division 3:

Semis: Blue Mountains, UWSH, Waverley, Hills

Blue Mountains will again dominate Div 3. They have a grave yard out there at Lapstone and I don’t expect anything to change there.
UWSH should do a lot better than they do each year. Well resourced, big backyard, captive audience. Insular thought process though.
Waverley were once a Subbies powerhouse but poor management and too nig a reliance on travellers brought them unstuck. With a superb ground and a good catchment area they should be in Div 1 really.
Hills have had some good young kids coming through for the past few years. Will they stay on? Who knows but expect to see them win some big a big margin and lose some by a big margin.

Promotion tip: Blueys (but they hate Div 2 because of the travel so they may not want to go up.

Division 5:

GF: Redfield v Sydney Irish

Redfield are undefeated in the past 2 seasons. We expect that to change when they face new Club Sydney Irish who I think will be a chance for Div 3 in 2014 the way they are building. Redfield are red hot and well managed so they should retain their players but will be pushed all the way.

Hi just curious as to why you tipped Iggies to be relegated in 2013?
Also dont put all your cash on Drummoyne as they have very few coaches and the money will not last forever

 

[Crashy]

I am also curious as to why Barker Old Boys are considered cannon fodder in Division 2 after being relegated from Division 1. This is a team who on their day beat Drummoyne...They will have some good depth in 2013 - Division 1 really is a big step up from Div 2 so Balmain should do ok with their big player base but will find it harder than expected. I hear Newport have recuited from Fiji.