Sydney Subbies 2022

[En Gage]

Or even which division.

 

[Pfitzy]

Them burraneer and sealices can everyone else not sure about

Yeah Wakehurst had a bit of a stumble against the Lice down at Forshaw #2 on Saturday, having beaten them in Round 1 at Wakehurst. Home ground advantage I suppose - it is a long trip between the north and south! Wakehurst narrowly knocked off the Hammerheads (Burraneer) down at AR Hurst so they're no mugs for travel.

I'm not sure if 5th Div is having a Top 4 or Top 6 at this point? Originally they were 12 clubs, then 11, then 10 in preseason.

Brothers have 2 games in hand, so the table is skewed a little by that. With no wet weather weeks left, they're scheduled as follows:
Brothers v Kings OB - Roseville Chase, 20/07 KO 1930
Sea Lice v Brothers - Forshaw #1, 27/07 KO 1930

This is what it looks like right now with 10 played and 2 rounds to go:
1 Menai 47 (10W) - Home v Balmain (8), Home v Dukes (10) - probably good for the minor premiership, based on a likely 10 points at home.

2 Irish 44 (9W) - Away v Lice (4), Home v Wakehurst (3) - Irish are a good side and can take out Menai in the finals with their structured approach I reckon.

3 Wakehurst 35 (7W) - Home v Brothers (5), Away v Irish (2) - interesting couple of games. They've beaten Lice and Hammerheads but also lost big to Lice on the return leg, getting within 8 of Irish. A win against Brothers would help a lot.

4 Sea Lice 31 (6W) - Home v Irish (2), Home WW v Brothers (6), Away v Oatley (9) - would back them to beat Oatley and probably Brothers in the night game. Irish is a 50/50 after they were leading the R2 game against the men in green but conceded 10 points.

5 Burraneer 30 (5W) - Home v Kings OB (7), Away v Brothers (6) only 5 wins for the Hammerheads but collected TEN bonus points during the year, so they're close and scoring tries. Think they'll stay roughly in 5th?

Bit of a drop from 5th to 6th here, noting against that Brothers have 2 in hand and therefore *could* be closer.

6 Brothers 19 (4W) - Home WW v Kings OB (7), Away v Wakehurst (3), Away WW v Sea Lice (4), Home v Burraneer (5). That is a bloody tough ask - 4 games in 2 weeks against 3 of the top 5 and the team a game back on the table. Beat Kings and they push away from them to retain 6th I reckon.

7 Kings OB 14 (2W) - Away WW v Brothers (6), Away v Burraneer (5), Home v Balmain (8). Only 2 from 8 this year and unlikely to improve on 7th.

8 Balmain 11 (2W) - Away v Menai (1), Away v Kings OB (7) - will be aiming to beat Kings and will do their best against Menai, but jeez that is a mountain to climb...

9 Oatley 11 (2W) - Away v Dukes (10), Home vSea Lice (4) - they win that game against Dukes and they put themselves in the frame for 7th.

10 Dukes 4 (1W) - Home v Oatley (9), Away v Menai (1) - top and tails to finish! Tough year at Booralee with the 1 close win against Balmain in R6 and a big loss against them too in R1. A win against Oatley won't get them off the bottom of the table, but it would be something to celebrate before the big trip to Menai.

Overall I don't think the table order will change much. Sea Lice and Burraneer have a chance to push Wakehurst into 5th which means something if it is Top 4. If it is Top 6, well the change in order won't mean much?

 

[WoodyWoodsman]

Is the club in question in contention for finals? Would be good to know who.

They believe that they are, depending on whether the finals are a top 4 or top 6. It will be interesting to see if any of it is picked up.
The first player in question hasn’t played more than the one game.
The second player - well, it’s yet to be seen.

 

[Pfitzy]

Very late change to Lapstone may impact Mosman’s numbers.

Strong showing regardless, with good wins in Kentwell, Thirds and Fifths (big win there actually), and narrow losses in 2s and Colts.

The prediction above about BM's Fourth Grade bore out tho. Solid win at 31-zip.

Had a quick look at the start of First Grade and the track looked quite heavy, with centre particularly damaged. Surface water gone at least.

 

[Eastcoast]

Horrid day out at Latham Park for the boys. I agree with Pfitzy - The plastic isnt a surface for Rugby. Waverley are strong across the grades and deserving of the wins. Hard to get past them come finals time.
A few other results from the weekend were as expected - Colleagues and Mosman too good
Drummoyne putting their WAGS turmoil aside to take a huge scalp. This will end the coach rumour surely.
Pats tried to lose another game that was unloseable, although Forest just didnt want to take it. Just a whole lot of slop in that game.

 

[The Wombat]

Strong showing regardless, with good wins in Kentwell, Thirds and Fifths (big win there actually), and narrow losses in 2s and Colts.

The prediction above about BM's Fourth Grade bore out tho. Solid win at 31-zip.

Had a quick look at the start of First Grade and the track looked quite heavy, with centre particularly damaged. Surface water gone at least.

BM are a strong club and great hosts. Their 4s are a good side. Mosman weren’t sharp at all, gifting BM two intercept tries and tries off kick restarts.

Pitch had definitely seen better days. Made Mosman Council’s decision to close Rawson all the more frustrating with it looking great at the moment.

 

[Pfitzy]

The plastic isnt a surface for Rugby

Don't like playing on it, refereeing on it, or even running water on it. Last year I ran touch for the womens 7s and the heat coming off the deck was sapping. Getting tackled on it was rubbish, and a few of our players got infections from it.

 

[Pfitzy]

Pitch had definitely seen better days. Made Mosman Council’s decision to close Rawson all the more frustrating with it looking great at the moment.

Particularly as showers are forecast through the week, so it will be more risky for damage this Saturday than last

I refereed at Lindfield on the weekend and Old Soldiers was OK in patches but that cricket pitch was a lottery. Up at Hassall Park playing St Ives it actually held up pretty well with a few slips for the guys in plastic soles, but I still washed the jerseys twice anyway

 

[Pfitzy]

And the reason why it is such a bowl of green shite - and according to the Sydney Irish lads who play and train there - is that the artificial surface needs periodic maintenance.

And apparently none has happened since it was laid...

Ah yes - the "rubble" needs occasional replacement and levelling. But it is sold as "maintenance-free" so why would Council do that?

 

[Pfitzy]

You can really tell the difference between maintained artificial turf, and ..... Latham Park.

I long considered getting it in my back yard, being on the small side and a bit ridiculous to push a mower around. But once the Western Sydney sun gets in there it is hot enough on real grass much less looking for first-degree burns...

 

[Doritos Day]

When you think you've heard it all - Gore Hill Oval is synthetic and used for AFL.

I know the groundskeepers cause trouble when they cut the lawn as if the EPL are in town but surely there is a middle ground to ensure the sports that truly need grass are getting it.

No idea how the professionals cop it - Saracens/Racing could offer me double the next best deal and I'd stay away

 

[Pfitzy]

A cursory glance at the team sheet shows Chatswood might have been missing a few of their regular players?

Seconds looked competitive tho at 19-14.

 

[The Wombat]

Watched the Kentwell game between HH and Waverley. Nasty leg break looked to end the game early. Hope the lad is alright, the sound was sickening.

 

[Pfitzy]

No idea how the professionals cop it - Saracens/Racing could offer me double the next best deal and I'd stay away

Have seen a few videos on YouTube where Max Lahiff among others are not happy with the "4G" pitches.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

When you think you've heard it all - Gore Hill Oval is synthetic and used for AFL.

I know the groundskeepers cause trouble when they cut the lawn as if the EPL are in town but surely there is a middle ground to ensure the sports that truly need grass are getting it.

No idea how the professionals cop it - Saracens/Racing could offer me double the next best deal and I'd stay away

'The cuts are brutal. It's crazy. You have boys getting skin grafts'

Exeter Chiefs winger Jack Nowell has added his voice to the growing list of players that have voiced their concern around 4G pitches.

www.rugbypass.com

They are horrendous. Fan of the idea for grounds that have junior Soccer and Aus Kick but anything more than that they are a hazard.

I've heard from many players as well that the pain in your joints after games is terrible because of the bounce back that comes whenever they do anything. Not a dull thud of grass that absorbs your force. Professional teams that choose this option are being cheap in the short term with less up keep but making their club less desirable and hurting their assets.

Rae Rae

 

[Eastcoast]

I was thumbing through the Subbies scores on Fusesport, and I noticed the Epping v Chatswood score-line in McLean Cup (Epping won 52 - 5) last Saturday

I was surprised at the result, as I thought Chatswood were a far better team than that this season, so I checked the Score Sheet on Fusesport thinking there were a few cards given during the match against Chatswood - and to my surprise they were all against Epping! (2 x YC, 1 x RC)

I watched the game on Cluch, and to me it seemed like men playing against boys (no offence to the Chatswood lads here). Chatswood missed so many first up tackles, and the big Epping boys upfront just manhandled them.

At one stage in the first half Epping had 13 on the field, and they easily repelled attack after attack by Chatswood - and right on their line too.

And didn't the ref give Epping a hiding with regards to penalties too!

Those sort of wins - when everything appears to be going against you, can really uplift a club/ team - especially as Epping head towards the pointy end of the season; I am tipping them to go all the way this year. Yes there is Savers, Merrylands and S.Harbour right up there, I just have a feeling its going to be the blue and golds season.

Maybe prodigy can enlighten us further on what happened on the day?

Well done getting through Div 4 games on your days off. I tried to get through the St Pats Forest game last night and fell asleep.

 

[Pfitzy]

Rain coming. Not much in it, even on the coast, but a few clubs will be phoning around their backup options...

 

[Pfitzy]

Watched the Kentwell game between HH and Waverley. Nasty leg break looked to end the game early. Hope the lad is alright, the sound was sickening.

Have just seen the incident. Shivers... Spoke to HH and they say he's in good spirits.

 

[The Wombat]

No 3rd grade from Knox last week. Surely next year will be the year they say goodbye to div 1.

 

[Eastcoast]

A few clubs scrambling for grounds this week ive heard. Alot of teams coming up to having an extra 2-3 games to make up on top of their own. Lucky in Div 1 we still have another WW week which will be used well I feel.
Some good games this week
Drummoyne - Knox - The two battlers of the season going head to head. This one could be entertaining. Dirty Reds by 6
Petersham - Forest - Forest had so many opportunities last week and did nothing with it. Cant see them getting over a Petersham team that shouldnt have lost last week either. Camperdown wont be in good shape - this one might wait 2 weeks to be played
HH - Mosman - Close one for us last week. Horrible way to finish the game. Jake has been one of our best for a few seasons now. Wishing him a speedy recovery. The boys will rally and come away with a win. HH by 5
Blueys - Colleagues -Colleagues will handle the size of Blueys easily. Could put another 50 on here. Is Lapstone going to handle another Wet Weatherweek?
St Pats - Waverley - Pats have a good team, but Waverley are on another level at the moment. The'Hurtlocker' is a mud patch on its best day. Not sure what state it will be at the moment. Hopefully for Pats sake they dont have to travel to Pfitzys favourite surface at Latham. Waverley to make a statement for the Cup this week. Waves by 14