Aussie Community Rugby
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@Kiwiwomble cheers. I've been trying to get Colts running for about 3 years now and this feels like another failure.
Tried contacting Eastwood to get some kind of partnership going, as they're moving into our area once their new ground is built. They were bright and cheerful but haven't been returning calls since the initial engagement - I called their bluff and said I'd happily buy them dinner at our pub to have a chat. fluffybunnies.
I'm finding it hard to push through preseason at the moment. Hopefully the results are better this year*, but I've probably spent 200 hours this off-season trying to get things moving in a positive fashion, and I'm treading water like every other fucking year.
Why bother? "Because I love the game" isn't good enough. We (suburban) have asked NSWRU to step in with Premier Rugby and help align things better. They won't, because they're too afraid to get involved and probably won't be effective anyway. The game doesn't want help. It is fucking Groundhog Day.
*the one benefit of staying in 4th Division is the top 2 clubs have been promoted out so the competition might be a bit more even.
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@NTA i cant hit the upvote on that!
several questions...starting with why message you? can you help of is he just that dedicated to the club he wanted to let you know he wont make training?
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@Kiwiwomble unfortunately I'm seen as the fixer, being Club Secretary.
Trying to get him to send documents (photos), then compiling into a document for our friendly lawyer (coach is also a lawyer) while trying to fucking work and then go to the DIvisional meeting last night across town.
TBH I was seriously thinking about packing it all in on the drive home, and I'm not much different today. So tired.
I have two problems that I need to solve almost in parallel:
- I am a fucking neurotic dickhead for solving problems
- I don't know when to stop and protect myself as a result
Oh and the appeal had to be lodged by midnight....
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im always borderline about throwing it in when just doing actual club stuff like packing up the training ground (driving back at sunset this morning to try and find one of the new guys phone, no luck)...let alone that kind of stuff....but when those beautiful bastards win a game and sing the song i'll be back in
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@Kiwiwomble I also realise I'm like this every March ... then a bunch of players come out of the woodwork and things move ahead.
The rest of the Committee are all busy people. Senior positions in government, or someone who is the only position at their small company. I work from home most days and am good enough to make what I do look hard and time-consuming while being easy and rapid. But that is also a trap...
I'm also sick of being told to "build culture" by the traditional clubs, when they don't understand Western Sydney; a lot of these guys work 6 days a week or more, and just want to play footy. They don't want to help pack up or set up. They don't want to spend 2 hours a year helping run the raffle at the club. They just want to play footy. Full stop.
We tried having events to attract people. Only the Committee showed up with a couple of die hards. The presentation night tickets were $40, and we realised the team manager - who has his own financial and medical issues - was paying for tickets for 4 players and a partner - these are guys who earn good coin as labourers, and must think that their $150 rego is enough to cover bloody everything.
Fuck it. I'm going in circles and just venting for the sake of it.
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@NTA i hear ya
i think ive talked about this before but our club rooms is more than a km from our ground, we use a few of the Melbourne F1 pit lane garages as changing room....so at the start of the season im explaining to people all that stuff and that we'll be training somewhere else for 3 months until the F1 is all packed up and we can go home...and even then most people (including myself i admit) hardly ever make the trip back to the dungeon after a game for a beer....and then i go to other clubs and see the old mates in the club ties on the balcony or propping up the bar and think...thats what we need
its tough
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big weekend coming
for some unknown reason we have decided to do out annual camp (cant get accomodation so its a day trip) to play a rural vic club (albury steamers) on the same day as the pre seasons 10's tournament
a good sign of where we're at is not only can we send 30 to albury...but we're putting in two mens teams and one womens into the 10's tournament
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We're similar, with our first trial Saturday against a local club in the division above us. Missing a few guys because of cricket (!!) so interesting to see what happens. Just a trial - no injuries is my goal.
Don't have trial games for 23rd or Charity Day on 6th April. This is a fucking shame as going into the season without a month of contact work is rubbish.
Frees up my weekends tho
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@NTA your still doing contact in training though? not the same i know
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@Kiwiwomble yeah but it isn't full noise. Training accidents or internal trials are the fucking worst
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@NTA tell me about it, remember a trial game is where i ruptured three ligaments in my knee and ended the great comeback ....an epic 15 mins though, one of the coaches still mentions i should have got a penalty before the dude cleared me out
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First trial for us yesterday (and only trial, at this stage).
New tackle height ELV in place - LOT of penalties early but as the day wore on the players were adjusting.
The team that held the ball scored the most, because every few phases there would be a penalty for high tackle. A lot of tap n go. Some kicking for lineout.
There was a lot of muttering about the game being ruined but there's some brain rewiring that needs to happen in the players - fighting their instinct to go high and effect hot contact or choke tackles - and the people on the sideline who will end up with a product that will probably have some growing pains but ultimately be better.
First few weeks of competition will be interesting.
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....our women won the 10's comp...two means teams didnt win a game....the majority of our first grade were in albury...but a bit of awake up call
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preseason game against the private school old boys club (Melbourne Unicorns), we had 3 squads with only a few playing in more than one team so probably 60 guys....they rocked up with 30 guys and had to call 2 of the 3 games early
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Saturday no trials organised so went to look at a couple of clubs in our Division.
Spectated the first game, did the Board Member thing in terms of making sure everyone was good to go.
Planned to spectate the second game, but the ref didn't show. Drove home (10 minutes), grabbed my gear, and ended up doing about 65 minutes before calling the game off when a fight broke out. Couldn't be arsed giving out red cards.
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@NTA Although the referee is the sole judge of time and fact don't games over there that are blown up because of reasons you described have to go through a referee's report and a Rugby Union Judicial hearing? I know I had to attend two in my role as a Club Captain in Wellington because of that.
Probably a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other as red cards would also mean you have to complete a report and attend the judicial heading of the players involved. At least in your situation you could use the game was late starting and I had decided the correct number of minutes had elapsed so the game was not officially "called off" but simply the alloted time had expired! -
@Higgins said in Aussie Community Rugby:
@NTA Although the referee is the sole judge of time and fact don't games over there that are blown up because of reasons you described have to go through a referee's report and a Rugby Union Judicial hearing? I know I had to attend two in my role as a Club Captain in Wellington because of that.
In the event I presented a red card, I'd have to fill out an online report describing what happened. TBF I didn't see any punches thrown even if there were some. Lot of jersey pulling.
I would not have to attend the Judiciary unless it was exceptional circumstances.
Plus it was a trial game, honouring a guy who was a Life Member at both clubs, so limiting the damage was probably the best way out. Fuck the paperwork.
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Woke up just after 3AM. Stared at the ceiling, wondering how the club was going to meet financial commitments this year.
Sponsors have been tardy about getting money to us. Agreements have been in place for a few months, and we've ordered playing kit with logos and everything. Yet to see any money.
I got a quote on some ground signage to mount to our seating - just over $2k. Figured I could sell 4 spots for $2k each and turn a profit. Even 2 spots and we're ahead. Only got one so we're running at a loss. That bill has to be paid as well as the first round of kit, so we're in the red zone.
Trying to get players to pay is like pulling teeth - out of 40ish registered I've got 4 paid to date. We're only asking $150.
This weekend is meant to be our last trial round but there is a shitload of rain forecast, so we'll be lucky to get on. Players don't respond to the TeamList platform emails we send out, so I'm spending money on SMS trying to get more.
Round 1 on the 13/04 is scheduled for a home game but the oversowing of our ground means we might have to move all our shit a couple of fields over, which fucking sucks as it means no easy canteen or ameneties access, and hauling all our shit down there. Inconvenient to say the least.
