Sydney Subbies 2014

[Pfitzy]

Merrylands said for years their perfect spot was fourth division. Now they're struggling.

Some bold moves by Subbies i see, but good luck making amateurism stick.

 

[Done that]

Ozzie Bob re your teams,what about Briars ?

 

[Ozzie Bob]

Ozzie Bob re your teams,what about Briars ?

Sorry i must have missed them out. They are a strong club and should build from 3rd div. Ideally they are strong enough to be in Div 2. They have a great area to draw from (When St Pats dont pinch their players) and should be a leading club. I think they have quite a strong financial base

 

[Ozzie Bob]

Subbies have updated the clubs in each division on their website and Div 4 is in operation.

I believe their can still be some changes at the gradings meetings but it will be very interesting to see where the season goes. St George listed in 4th Div after winning 1st grade in Div 3 stands out to me

 

[Prodigy]

Subbies have updated the clubs in each division on their website and Div 4 is in operation.

I believe their can still be some changes at the gradings meetings but it will be very interesting to see where the season goes. St George listed in 4th Div after winning 1st grade in Div 3 stands out to me

Yeah, definitely an interesting decision on Subbies behalf. However, for the past 2-3 seasons, St George have not been able to field a fourth grade team. They have good numbers for three grades at home, but can struggle on the road. While they could have well argued that the 1st Grade premiers should not be relegated, I have a feeling that they were only up in Division 3 because there was not Division 4 competition.

Blacktown are the unfortunate ones in the new gradings. Last year was the first year that they could not field a fourth grade team in division three and they get punted straight away.

It is an interesting decision given that, for a numbers of year, the Division 2 competition (which is allegedly supposed to have a compulsory colts team) had to deal with Newport and Waverley not fielding colts, but holding their position in the division. I know that Newport now have one of the top colts teams in division two and waverley are in division three, but it seems like the rules have been a lot stricter on the non-North Shore/Eastern Suburbs based clubs.

 

[Ozzie Bob]

Prodigy, I agree with everything you said. The only thing I can think is that Blacktown asked to go down so they could rebuild?

 

[Tommy Tudehope]

Division 4 is getting confirmed this week with the following teams I hear:

Blacktown
Macquarie Uni
Convicts
Redfield
St George
Irish
Harlequins

7 team comp far from ideal. Assume that will mean you might play one team three times? Perhaps a local derby.

 

[Tommy Tudehope]

Prodigy, I agree with everything you said. The only thing I can think is that Blacktown asked to go down so they could rebuild?

I think that is right. Blacktown had a lot of problems last year including some issues on the coaching front. Hopefully they can use the relegation as an opportunity to rebuild.

On another issue, Subbies really should push a Div 6 team up and encourage them to grow with an additional team. It is the only way we're going to get equitable comps across all the divisions.

 

[Pfitzy]

Blacktown lost a coach last year and some players went with him to another team nearby in fifth division. Not 100% sure what the story was, but you can't expect teams to go up a division and then cop a flogging every week.

Subbies is broken in that way.

 

[Prodigy]

Blacktown lost a coach last year and some players went with him to another team nearby in fifth division. Not 100% sure what the story was, but you can't expect teams to go up a division and then cop a flogging every week.

Subbies is broken in that way.

Pfitzy, my understanding is that some of the players who went to the nearby club did not follow the coach, but may have been offered other incentives to change clubs.
I actually hear that the coach did not fully understand the situation that Blacktown found themselves in last year and was not overly sympathetic to the need for higher grades player to fill holes in the lower grades. Hopefully not an issue for his new club this year, but I know that it has been in the past.

 

[RugbyJim]

Div 4 preview:

Blacktown - Could be a tough year for the Warriors after going down a division and installing a new coaching team. Big question is can they recruit well to be able to compete at the business end of the season. Will struggle.

Colleagues Convicts - Showed glimpses of potential in 2013 and hosting The Bingham Cup could prove to be a great recruiting tool. Will trouble a few teams this year.

Macquarie University - Very inconsistent last season and suspect we'll see much of the same this year. Don't have the clout to trouble the big boys.

Redfield Old Boys - Can't ignore the pedigree however I think they'll have their hands full with some of the bigger teams like St George and Sydney Irish. Have always struggled at scrum time and will need to find some grunt upfront.

St George - As Div 3 champions you'd think St George would be favourites this year however the rumours suggest they may have lost a few players to clubs in higher divisions. Will be challengers again.

Sydney Harlequins - The Quins look short on quality with Tony Daly's departure to Gordon together with the loss of a few key players. Question mark.

Sydney Irish - Will be strong again this year simply because success breeds success. They'll have undoubted quality in their ranks and because of this will record some impressive victories.

Grand Final Prediction -St George vs. Sydney Irish

 

[Ozzie Bob]

Div 4 preview:

Blacktown - Could be a tough year for the Warriors after going down a division and installing a new coaching team. Big question is can they recruit well to be able to compete at the business end of the season. Will struggle.

Colleagues Convicts - Showed glimpses of potential in 2013 and hosting The Bingham Cup could prove to be a great recruiting tool. Will trouble a few teams this year.

Macquarie University - Very inconsistent last season and suspect we'll see much of the same this year. Don't have the clout to trouble the big boys.

Redfield Old Boys - Can't ignore the pedigree however I think they'll have their hands full with some of the bigger teams like St George and Sydney Irish. Have always struggled at scrum time and will need to find some grunt upfront.

St George - As Div 3 champions you'd think St George would be favourites this year however the rumours suggest they may have lost a few players to clubs in higher divisions. Will be challengers again.

Sydney Harlequins - The Quins look short on quality with Tony Daly's departure to Gordon together with the loss of a few key players. Question mark.

Sydney Irish - Will be strong again this year simply because success breeds success. They'll have undoubted quality in their ranks and because of this will record some impressive victories.

Grand Final Prediction -St George vs. Sydney Irish

I cant believe that Colleagues numbers allow them to be so strong across so many divisions

I also find hard to believe that Blacktown could go from Cowboys cup winners to struggling with numbers this year

 

[Tommy Tudehope]

Div 4 preview:

Blacktown - Could be a tough year for the Warriors after going down a division and installing a new coaching team. Big question is can they recruit well to be able to compete at the business end of the season. Will struggle.

Colleagues Convicts - Showed glimpses of potential in 2013 and hosting The Bingham Cup could prove to be a great recruiting tool. Will trouble a few teams this year.

Macquarie University - Very inconsistent last season and suspect we'll see much of the same this year. Don't have the clout to trouble the big boys.

Redfield Old Boys - Can't ignore the pedigree however I think they'll have their hands full with some of the bigger teams like St George and Sydney Irish. Have always struggled at scrum time and will need to find some grunt upfront.

St George - As Div 3 champions you'd think St George would be favourites this year however the rumours suggest they may have lost a few players to clubs in higher divisions. Will be challengers again.

Sydney Harlequins - The Quins look short on quality with Tony Daly's departure to Gordon together with the loss of a few key players. Question mark.

Sydney Irish - Will be strong again this year simply because success breeds success. They'll have undoubted quality in their ranks and because of this will record some impressive victories.

Grand Final Prediction -St George vs. Sydney Irish

That is a fair synopsis. Although, naturally, I'm tipping a Grand Final replay between Redfield and Sydney Irish. I wouldn't discount the Quinns either. They are always there or thereabouts come seasons end. Really hope they can find an 8th team for this comp.

 

[JSRF10]

Div 4 preview:

Blacktown - Could be a tough year for the Warriors after going down a division and installing a new coaching team. Big question is can they recruit well to be able to compete at the business end of the season. Will struggle.

Colleagues Convicts - Showed glimpses of potential in 2013 and hosting The Bingham Cup could prove to be a great recruiting tool. Will trouble a few teams this year.

Macquarie University - Very inconsistent last season and suspect we'll see much of the same this year. Don't have the clout to trouble the big boys.

Redfield Old Boys - Can't ignore the pedigree however I think they'll have their hands full with some of the bigger teams like St George and Sydney Irish. Have always struggled at scrum time and will need to find some grunt upfront.

St George - As Div 3 champions you'd think St George would be favourites this year however the rumours suggest they may have lost a few players to clubs in higher divisions. Will be challengers again.

Sydney Harlequins - The Quins look short on quality with Tony Daly's departure to Gordon together with the loss of a few key players. Question mark.

Sydney Irish - Will be strong again this year simply because success breeds success. They'll have undoubted quality in their ranks and because of this will record some impressive victories.

Grand Final Prediction -St George vs. Sydney Irish

Whilst Irish havent lost anyone from their GF team of last year I'm not sure how they'll go in the first grade this year. Even if St George have lost a couple surely they'll still be very strong in first grade if they have the bones of their winning team from last year? Right now I'd have to make Blacktown and St George favorites given they are coming from a higher league but I'll admit I know nothing of the comings and going from these clubs

 

[Ozzie Bob]

Just noticed a few things from the draws

Why are Div 1 and 2 playing on the 26th of April? The Friday is a big public holiday clubs are going to struggle for players big time that round.

Knox have moved home grounds. Moved to Loftberg Oval in West Pymble.

Whatever happened to Knox's plan for Koola Park having two grounds side by side?

 

[Eyes and Ears]

possibly because Easter is the previous weekend.

 

[Rugby Central]

Just noticed a few things from the draws

Why are Div 1 and 2 playing on the 26th of April? The Friday is a big public holiday clubs are going to struggle for players big time that round.

Knox have moved home grounds. Moved to Loftberg Oval in West Pymble.

Whatever happened to Knox's plan for Koola Park having two grounds side by side?

The down side of 10 team comps is the season is too long to work aroun public holidays. NUmbers maybe one problem but the hangovers are going to be the real test. The move to 8 team comps in 2015 will allow the competition to factor in the public holdiays better.

The Koola redevelopment has been held up (Council delays - shock horror) so nobody will be moving there for a couple of years.

 

[Tommy Tudehope]

Div 3 Draw has just been released by Subbies.

http://rugby.net.au/competitions.asp?id=1171

 

[Crashy]

Interesting, Briars in Div 3... Hopefully the new 8 team comp means all will have a colts team as it seems the only way to get promoted is if you have a colts team. Go BOBBIES!

 

[Tommy Tudehope]

For anyone without a club in 2014, Redfield Old Boys are looking for new players as we expand up a division and with an additional team.

Home games and training at Dural.

Register your interest here or here: https://www.facebook.com/RedfieldOldBoysRugby