The Horan-Little Shield Record

[Hugh Jarse]

Use this Thread to record the history and current custodianship of our shield.

I reckon we should go back to the first ever game NRC 2014 to keep a the G&GR record of the "challenges" and "defences" in accordance with the now accepted rules of our Shield. Maybe this archive post will follow.

The first Official Presentation to Melbourne Rising on 23 August 2015 at Bond University:

Source: @BuildcorpNRC twitter

Source: @Sully

Melbourne Rising 39 defeated Queensland Country 31 at Bond University, Gold Coast on 23 August 2015.
Melbourne Rising ( B Meehan 2, L Taliu, S Fuglistaller, P Leafa, D Shipperley tries; J Debreczeni 3 Cons)
Queensland Country (C Mitchell, S Fa'agase, J Taulagi, R Leilua tries; S Green 2 cons)

 

[Train Without a Station]

Reg sporting the QLD tuxedo for the occasion I see.

 

[Sully]

 

[RugbyReg]

I said this in another thread but...

I made the point to Fugistaller (as Sully so wonderfully captured above) to say that G&GR were behind this on behalf of the entire rugby community and that we hope they respect that and help build on the tradition of it all. I think collectively we all need to be the "spiritual guardians" of this Shield and ensure it remains significant and relevant.

Thinking about this all, we need to build our own tradition about this. Anyone done anything on wikipedia? we need to build a Horan Little Shield page with all the GAGR history (including links to Pftitzy's initial article), the rules and the a table tracking the winners, challengers etc.

Volunteers?​

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Great idea about a Wikipedia page. Anyone know a 14 year old that knows how to tinker with wikipedia?

I think the "pre-history" of the shield is as follows:

Round 1 Inaugural NRC Game.
Thursday 21 August 2014 at Ballymore, Brisbane.
Brisbane City Defeated Sydney Stars to win the Shield by 45 - 20


Shield Holder: Brisbane City - First Challenge:
Round 3 Saturday 6 September 2014 at Ballymore, Brisbane.
Melbourne Rising defeated Brisbane City to win the Shield by 79 - 18

Shield Holder: Melbourne Rising - First Challenge:
Round 4 Thurdday 11 September 2014 at AAMI Park, Melbourne.
Melbourne Rising defeated Perth Spirit to retain the Shield by 44 - 24

Shield Holder: Melbourne Rising - Second Challenge:
Round 6 Thursday 25 September 2014 at AAMI Park, Melbourne
Melbourne Rising defeated Canberra Vikings to retain the Shield by 34 - 13

Shield Holder: Melbourne Rising - Third Challenge:
Round 9 Saturday 18 October 2014 at AAMI Park, Melbourne
Melbourne Rising defeated Queensland Country to retain the Shield by 47 - 26

At the end of 2014 the annotation on the Shield should read:
2014
Brisbane City - 1
Melbourne Rising - 3

Reference: http://www.buildcorpnrc.com.au/FixturesandStats/2014.aspx

 

[kiap]

"Pre-history" is a bit fake, IMO.

The Shield was presented to the Rising on Sunday. The record should start from there.

 

[RugbyReg]

agree 100%

 

[Braveheart81]

If you were going to look at the pre-history of the Shield, then the 2007 Western Sydney Rams are still waiting for someone to challenge them.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

"Pre-history" is a bit fake, IMO.

The Shield was presented to the Rising on Sunday. The record should start from there.

To be perfectly pedantic, the H-L shield was presented to the Rising on Saturday 22 August by Tim Horan himself.

The Record starts from there, not the first Challenge.

On Sunday, the Shield was presented to the winner of the first Official Challenge for the H-L Shield.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

New Holder after Brisbane City defeat Melbourne Rising by 45 - 21.

For the Record
Brisbane City 45 defeated Melbourne Rising 21 at Harlequins Rugby Club, Melbourne on 29 August 2015
Brisbane City (W Setu, J Lalofi, C Neville, S Talakai, S Higginbotham, S Kerevi Tries, J McIntyre 5 conv)
Melbourne Rising ( J Debreczeni, J Reid, F Viliati tries, J Debreczeni 2 Cons)

Presentation Time

Pic: @OzTimmay

At the end of 2015 the annotation on the Shield could read:
2015
Melbourne Rising - 1
Brisbane City - 1*


*more to come

 

[Sully]

 

[Train Without a Station]

Glory glory! Premiers and Shield holders!

 

[Sully]

Good to see news items leading with the Horan-Little shield in their headlines

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/n...k=8430e782f9a4984bbbaac4961d9a6424-1440830638

 

[Sully]

On a side note I wish we'd got a photo like that one last week with the Rising boys. Can we make certain we get a team shot with the shield from now on.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Was there a pic with the team last week? I just see Reg's mug plastered everywhere I look. Is there a rising player in the pic with him?

 

[RugbyReg]

Was there a pic with the team last week? I just see Reg's mug plastered everywhere I look. Is there a rising player in the pic with him?

The team raced off to the airport. We asked the team manager to get one but I don't think they did. The ARU specifically requested it be done this week which was great.

I get the feeling the Rising didn't fully appreciate it last week, which is understandable for its first go.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Haha I was just stirring mate. Good to see you being there to present it after the first game considering the impact you had on getting this to become a reality

 

[Hugh Jarse]

It looks much better with the little shieldlets around the circumference.

 

[kiap]

It looks much better with the little shieldlets around the circumference.

Yup, Agreed.

And it looks like one of them is engraved too, so maybe 2014 has got a gig on there after all.

(For mine, I don't think it should - but not too bothered if it's the case).

 

[kiap]

Next question of contention (perhaps this should be a click-bait user poll to garner some more interest)...

Should City put the HL on the line for their away game against Country in Toowoomba?

- It would generate more photo ops and potential publicity. Plus potentially add a notch to City's defence count (if they're feeling confident).

BUT I'm going to go against that tide and say 'No', for a few reasons:

1. It breaks the trend of being on the line every week. Just because it's not on offer all the time doesn't mean the vibe is killed for everyone. In fact I'd argue the opposite - something that comes around more rarely is harder to win and therefore becomes valued more. - Familiarity breeds contempt.

2. Once one team has opted not to play an away shield challenge, others will perhaps be more inclined to follow suit in the future.

3. The other reason is that there is already an important trophy for the Country-City game - this one:

The Andy Purcell Cup (this silverware was renamed in honour of Purcell, but is itself the old XXXX Cup which dates back nigh on 40 years). Don't overshadow it.

I suspect the temptation will be for the QRU to put both trophies on the line.

But IMO there can be too much of a good thing. Overexposure through putting the shield up every week devalues it slightly. You can kill the golden goose. The rules ensure it is contested often enough anyway.