Dear Parents and Players,
*NSW State Champs and Gala Weekends Overview*
After a busy couple of months of State Gala Days and State Championships for our U10s through to our U18s I wanted to update you all on Norths Juniors and what we have achieved this season, what we have coming up over the next couple of months and remind you to lock in Sunday 3:30pm on October 20 at The Greens North Sydney for our End of Season Presentation.
There is plenty to update you on, so please bear with me.
The U10s Red and Black teams travelled to Riverwood for a weekend of rugby – with each team playing 6 games across the Saturday and Sunday of the last weekend of the July school holidays. The rugby was very competitive and our players did the District proud, giving their all in their first season wearing the Red and Black of Norths Juniors. A big thank you to Jack Upton, Pete Griffiths, Will Perkins, Charlie Durham, Nick Timmins, Erin Denny and Georgina Barnett for all your efforts with our players (and parents) over the weekend.
The U11s Red and Black teams travelled to Mudgee for a weekend away this same July weekend. While the footy was tough, our players had a blast playing against teams from all over NSW. For those in older age groups, I am sure you remember the fun of travelling away with the players and parents from different village clubs within the District for your first rep “tour” and building bonds that last for seasons ahead as rep teammates continue to play with and against each other at club and school for years to come. Thank you to David Stenning, Mark Owens, Nick Boyle, Dom McGeekie, Charles Huntington, David Ballantyne, Katrina Courtenay and Michelle Lee for making the weekend so memorable for the players and their parents.
Our U12s had a tough start to their first ever NSW State Champs with the competition postponed over the June LWE due to the pouring rain that saw Camden’s fields flooded… the rescheduled date, to the first weekend of the school holidays, meant we lost a third of our starting team to conflicts with pre-booked holidays. While this left many young players gutted that they had missed a chance to play for Norths, it also meant half a dozen new players got to represent Norths Juniors at the State Champs. The players tried hard and scored a few solid wins to secure 10th place over the weekend. Thank you to Ben Furby, Will Nicholl, JP Bae, David Stenning, Ben Richards, Sallie Watt and Jess Apfel for all working together to make the weekend a memorable experience for our U12 players and their parents.
Our U13s team travelled to Orange and were constantly coming up against some much bigger opposition throughout their tournament but despite giving away some serious weight difference in the scrums and at the breakdown, all our players kept putting in and giving their best. A few close results went against the team and they ended up finishing 15th for the weekend. Thank you to Scott Dalibozek, Mark Muncaster, Justin Diddams and Katrina Courtenay for all your efforts with the players (and parents) over the weekend.
Our U14s had a strong tournament in Dubbo. Despite losing three players to injury prior to the first ball being kicked and being one of the smaller teams in the competition, the players put in over the whole long weekend and punched well above their weight. Despite some tough losses on Day 1, the players kept turning up and by the end of Day 2, they had played themselves into the Semi-finals of the State Champs. With only 17 seconds to go in the semi, the opposition unfortunately scored a try to take the win 7-3 to see our team relegated to the 3 v 4 play-off. A tough play-off game saw the players secure another impressive 4th placing at the State Champs – their third year in a row. Thanks to Ben Molloy, Will Perkins, Cameron Douglass and Justine Perkins for all their efforts over the weekend.
Our U15s travelled to Maitland this year to defend their State Championship from last year. After the first 2 days, our players secured a spot in the Sydney Cup and were keen to go one better than last year and win it. The boys put in a big effort but lost a close fought match to Warringah 8-5. The boys shook off the disappointment of the Sydney Cup final and played their way into the State Championships GF against Two Blues. It was another very closely fought game and the team was desperately unlucky to go down 7-5. To lose both finals by only a kick is a testament to the quality of the team. The players represented the Red and the Black of Norths Juniors superbly and were once again the best performing squad for our District at this year’s State Champs. As always, the players were well supported by their parents. A huge thank you to Gus Spence, Ed Abbott, Alf Garcia-Bennett and Liam and Peta O’Hara.
This year we entered our first U18s team made up of former Norths Juniors players, Norths Colts players and players from all over Sydney, the Central Coast and the Central West. The team played at Concord over the June LWE. After some tough early matches, our players got into their rhythm and ended making the Plate Semi-Final before finishing a strong 11th for the State Champs. A big thank you to Toby Barbour, Kosie Kotze and Ben O’Rourke for bringing this team together and getting them to gel so quickly and represent the Red and Black of Norths Juniors.
On behalf of all the NSJRU Exec Committee I would like to congratulate all the players and parents, coaches, assistants, trainers and managers for helping make this our biggest year for Norths Juniors to date.
We would also like to extend our congratulations to all those players who were selected for higher representative honours. The below players were selected to trial for Sydney:
*U14s*
Jack Corbett
Cooper Glanville
Edward Mitchell
*U15s*
Ben Barretto
Henry Baxter
Makoto Chapman
Julian Minto
Sinclair Lyne
Tom Symons
Harry Adamo
Finn Hannon
Archie Hartman
Eddie Garcia-Wood
Jeremiah Beale-Norris
Billy O’Hara
Sam Bull
James Bousie
*U18s*
Taj Mailei
Callum Bush Brady
Lucas Harding
And further congratulations to Jack (U14s), Henry, Tom, Harry, Finn, Julian, Archie, Eddie, Ben, Jeremiah, Sinclair, Makoto (U15s) and Taj (U18s) for making the SJRU Sydney teams that played in Bathurst against Country last weekend.
We wish you all the best for your upcoming Gen Blue trials.
*NSW 7s State Champs 2024 at Forster*
I am excited to announce that we have entered teams into the NSW 7s State Championships in Forster in late September/early October and we will start trialling for these teams in a few weeks’ time.
We have registered teams in the U11 Boys, U13 Boys, U15 Boys and U17 Boys State Champs. The U11s and U13s play on the 28-30 September and the U15s and U17s play on the 11-13 October.
This tournament presents some great pathways to future 7s honours with NSW and beyond.
*End of Season Presentation – 20th Oct*
Thank you to everyone for your support of our representative program for the first 6 months of 2024. We still have plenty of rugby to go over the next couple of months plus we have our Norths Juniors’ *End of Season Presentation on Sunday afternoon, 20th October @ 3:30pm at The Greens* – please keep this afternoon free to catch up with players and parents from this year’s reps where we can all come together to celebrate the success of season 2024.
In the meantime, on behalf of the NSJRU committee, we look forward to crossing paths on the sidelines in the coming weeks as the SJRU XVs competition comes to an end and the Frosty 7s competition for girls kicks off.
Cheers,
Nathan
President – NSJRU
