subbies specialist
Stan Wickham (3)
Must be a forest supporter ?
Sydney Subbies 2024
- Thread starter Lindommer
- Start date
Bismarck12345
Peter Burge (5)
Good luck to Briars in the final. Should be a good hit out and the intensity of the grand final should prepare their stars for international duty in the coming weeks.
crushermoran
Stan Wickham (3)
I went out to Wills Ground yesterday. I am not sure why Div 4 gets a goat track while the top divisions are looked after.
Raptors came from 26-12 down to beat Renegades 28-26. Renegades looked good but are a really unfit team. It was not a terrific level with two big teams with not much plans. Raptors are a big side in 2nds but I think teams like Knox and Irish would rip them apart in a higher division. 1st Grade was a good match and the score not a reflection of Renegades effort. The level was quite good and it is a step up from Division 6, Raptors have a lot of quality. Renegades ran out of gas at the end, with the final two tries down to a lack of fitness as Raptors finished quite comfortable.
Raptors came from 26-12 down to beat Renegades 28-26. Renegades looked good but are a really unfit team. It was not a terrific level with two big teams with not much plans. Raptors are a big side in 2nds but I think teams like Knox and Irish would rip them apart in a higher division. 1st Grade was a good match and the score not a reflection of Renegades effort. The level was quite good and it is a step up from Division 6, Raptors have a lot of quality. Renegades ran out of gas at the end, with the final two tries down to a lack of fitness as Raptors finished quite comfortable.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Had a few guys in their 40s out there and our bench is fairly reflective of where we are right now - a volume of guys who could fill in First Grade at a pinch but as you say, aren't in great condition.
Not sure what sort of game plans you're expecting for 2nd Grade in 4th Division besides "truck it up and find space"
Prodigy
Cyril Towers (30)
Or rather, congratulations to Sam Tuitopou, a young bloke who could still be playing colts and has been a standout for Briars. Maybe we should praise Briars for taking a chance with a kid and helping him achieve a dream
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
Genuinely, make me stop doing these, I've barely gotten one right in the finals.
Sydney Harbour continues to prove the doubters wrong and they're into another grand final despite being outsiders these last two weeks. Done it the hard way from third, good for them, slick outfit who defend hard. Should be a great contest next week in the GF vs Irish.
The fairytale of Knox 2s continues, edging Merrylands in a tight one that went down to the wire. Don't like their chances against Irish next week but you never know...
For Merrylands, that's one of the colossal bed sh*ts to end a season. Just missed minor premiers in both 1s and 2s, then both grades lost consecutively, even with a home final, to crash out of the comp. They looked classy in both grades mid-year, not entirely sure what caused the end of season collapse. They were a great addition to division 3 though and will reflect on a promising but ultimately frustrating season.
For LCOI, on to the GF against an undefeated Knox who they lost handily to last week. Good on them for showing Easts the door. Stranger things have happened, going to need to have one hell of a g up pregame to come out firing.
Either way, I'm excited, see you at TG Milner.
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
From an outside perspective... that is pretty gross.
CrashBandicoot
Bob McCowan (2)
It’s only gross from an outsiders perspective if clubs wanted an easy 50-0 win across every grade rather than a contest.
Every grade and game has been close in the season indicating that’s it’s the right level.
Eastcoast
Bill Watson (15)
Huge day out at Boronia on the weekend! Clubhouse open and looking the goods. Ground in great shape (apart from a slightly soggy pitch). Looking forward to getting into finals this weekend!
Waverley looking strong from 5's to 2s.
A little GF preview last week between HH and Mosman in Barbour. Both very talented squads go back at it again this week!
Forest pip Drummoyne in 2's. Interesting to see Lindfield drop out of the lower grades whilst playing a weaker squad in 1's. I wonder if that hurt depth or if it was just a strong Colleagues outfit finishing the year fast.
Cant wait to get to Drummoyne for the semis - Its great having both finals at the one venue to get the atmosphere of all the clubs.
Waverley looking strong from 5's to 2s.
A little GF preview last week between HH and Mosman in Barbour. Both very talented squads go back at it again this week!
Forest pip Drummoyne in 2's. Interesting to see Lindfield drop out of the lower grades whilst playing a weaker squad in 1's. I wonder if that hurt depth or if it was just a strong Colleagues outfit finishing the year fast.
Cant wait to get to Drummoyne for the semis - Its great having both finals at the one venue to get the atmosphere of all the clubs.
Strewthcobber
Michael Lynagh (62)
For those following from afar....what's gone on here?
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
Are you suggesting a team capable of making the GF in Second Grade wouldn't be able to be at least competitive one grade higher?
CrashBandicoot
Bob McCowan (2)
Given the level of Barraclough this year, the 4th placed 2nd grade side may not have been as competitive.
Why not just be supportive that a club struggling for numbers to start the year has had a little bit of success that will keep it around for a few more years at least?
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
Understood, and admittedly probably came across a bit negative there.
Agree with you above, but also understand the gripes of sides in the lower grades who have been knocked out of contention as a result of the experiment, however. As far as a precedent is concerned, what stops a Forest or someone next season saying no thanks to Kentwell and just contesting the Bourke and down?
We've seen a bunch of clubs have rough years, get demoted down a division or two and then rebuild from there, in my head that's a more practical approach, but I don't have knowledge on the inner workings of the club or what the player pool was looking like before the season started etc. I'm also cognisent of the fact there wasn't exactly a queue of clubs lined up to fill that spot in Division 2. In any case, makes for yet another interesting offseason for the board in terms of forming divisions for 2025.
As for the idea of keeping the club around for longer, that's fantastic news given the current landscape of the game, but in what format would they be looking at competing next year? Back in Division 3 where they can compete in all grades or again in a division higher without contesting the top grade?
KentwellCup>ShuteShield
Johnnie Wallace (23)
Where are all the colleagues doubters, who though they where going to get relegated from CC points
TheBigArvo
Larry Dwyer (12)
We have also seen a lot of clubs disappear completely or end up in Div 6. I guess the question is would a club that can field 4 out of the 5 Grades but no 1st Grade be better than one that can only field a 1st and 2nd Grade?
Was it the best idea? Probably not, but at least it was Subbies trying something outside of the box. Trying to keep comps viable. But you can see from the dribble on here there’s not much hope for Subbies. As soon as you think outside the box your torn down
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
Also fair points, just presenting an alternative view - i.e. that of a team who's season is now over as a result of playing another clubs best team.
Seems now more than ever it's exceedingly difficult to group clubs into likeminded divisions when having to consider number of grades, ability of grades, presence or absence of colts etc.
Might be time for a wholesale shake up.. no idea what that looks like though.
footy_footy
Larry Dwyer (12)
One club (because of their own shortcomings) has been allowed to play their 1st XV against every other clubs 2nd XV (which flows on to the 3rd and 4th Grade competitions). Of course this is going to cause issues, particularly when clubs who have "done the right thing" are the ones who lose out to the club who needed additional support at the start of the year. Let's not forget this decision was made the week before the competition was started and Subbies were left with no real alternative because they were informed of Epping's issues too late.
There is merit to both sides of the argument but in any event I don't think Epping will be in Division 2 next year even if they take home two premierships.
There is merit to both sides of the argument but in any event I don't think Epping will be in Division 2 next year even if they take home two premierships.
Prodigy
Cyril Towers (30)
I will
All the Division 2 clubs agreed to this situation, it might be hard to swallow now but it is what it is.
We are not taking for granted the position we are in, nor lording it over anyone. If you’d told me five weeks ago, we’d be contesting grand finals, I’d have told you that there’s no way.
Despite the allegations on here, we aren’t pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes. We’ve worked hard to put ourselves into a position to save the club, at the same time, clubs around us are also struggling, see Eastwood, Beecroft, Mac Uni, St Ives.
Funny, it would be okay if we lost, but not okay if we win. Look at it this way, Epping might be the last remaining hope for rugby in the Epping/Eastwood/Ryde/Carlingford/Dundas area.
I will tell you what it did do, it has kept the club alive. At a time when rugby is struggling, we are all doing the best we can.
All the Division 2 clubs agreed to this situation, it might be hard to swallow now but it is what it is.
We are not taking for granted the position we are in, nor lording it over anyone. If you’d told me five weeks ago, we’d be contesting grand finals, I’d have told you that there’s no way.
Despite the allegations on here, we aren’t pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes. We’ve worked hard to put ourselves into a position to save the club, at the same time, clubs around us are also struggling, see Eastwood, Beecroft, Mac Uni, St Ives.
Funny, it would be okay if we lost, but not okay if we win. Look at it this way, Epping might be the last remaining hope for rugby in the Epping/Eastwood/Ryde/Carlingford/Dundas area.
parkfootyenthusiast2
Ward Prentice (10)
Fair enough Prodigy, I don't have a dog in the fight so it's interesting to hear both sides. Best of luck this Saturday!