The final whistle has been blown on Season 2024 for Brothers. Our JV side went down to Renegades 22-19 in the semi-final while our Colts went down 47-5 to Wakehurst in the Radford Cup semi-final.
As usual, it has been a long season. In pre-season we tested the waters for a Women’s team, hoped to get a stand-alone Seniors, and wanted a stand-alone Colts. We decided to make management calls early this time, so we postponed the idea of a Women’s team until 2025, realised we would need at least another year as a JV in seniors with Wakehurst, and went solo in Colts. It was all a bit messy administratively but for a club that is looking to re-establish itself it meant that we made a good start to our three-year re-building plan.
We had 33 players who registered and played for Colts throughout the year and even though we didn’t have the most successful season on the field, we certainly had a good time and still being able to have 18 fit players available for the last game of the season gives us a great foundation for next year and is testament to the team’s resilience.
We capped the year off with our presentation night last Saturday night which was well attended and showed that spirits are still high. Watching the Wallabies v South Africa put a bit of a dampener on proceedings after the speeches but we should all be used to that by now. The award winners on the night were:
Clubman of the the Year: Alex Roch
Spirit of Rugby Award: Alex Wardlaw
Colts Best & Fairest: Luke Smith & Ryan Johnsun (shared)
Colts Best Forward: Kaiya Crowhen
Colts Best Back: Jayden Chen
Colts Best New Player: Cameron Laytham
Top Points Scorer: Chris Zilifian
Colts Most Improved: Flynn McDonald
Colts Spirit of Rugby: Isaiah & Elijah Gray
Oldest Colts Player: Alex Milligan
Brothers in the City
It was a very well attended day for the club and many thanks once again to Ian ‘Moose’ Mears for his wonderful organisation and Adrian Brannan for his work in keeping the day running smoothly. Even though our costs for the venue and related items increased this year, we still made more than $11,000 profit on the day which is of massive benefit for the club.
Volunteers
The club has shrunk significantly over the years, but we are now on a growth path, and as we all know it takes a community to allow a rugby club to function. So I would encourage everyone to think what time and effort they can provide to the club in Season 2025. Even a week or two during the season helps. More to follow in coming newsletters but I would encourage everyone to think about what they can to do to help the club next year.
AGM and Committee
The AGM is coming up and everyone will be advised of the date in due course. I would encourage as many people to attend as possible if only to listen to what plans the committee has for the club and also to hold us to account for what we have (or haven’t done). It will be at the Willoughby Hotel and we’ll put a bit of money over the bar for attendees.
Even better, I would encourage as many people as possible to put their hand up to join the committee. Several members have done more than their fair share over the years and need a break. Every committee needs new blood and it is an exciting time to be involved as we seek to grow our rugby footprint and make coming to Roseville Chase on a Saturday afternoon a fun day out.
Recruiting
The season is over but recruiting never stops. We are looking to exploit our renewed SPX linkage and Justin Gates will be speaking to Year 12 about playing for Brothers at a Year 12 assembly next week. We also hope to have some of the ex-SPX Colts speak to the current Year 12 before the end of the year.
As part of our university relationships, we are also sending Will Ramsbottom and Oscar McDonald as coaches for the ACU mixed touch team at Uni Nationals in Canberra in September. ACU approached us to help them and this will both further establish our partnership with the university and hopefully help our recruiting. Will and Oscar will undoubtedly have fun and have been told that recruiting is their top priority, having fun is a bonus!
Sponsorship
We are always looking for sponsors so if anybody knows of potential sponsors for us to approach, or wants to sponsor us yourself then email me at president@brothersrugby.com.au This week we re-signed our Willoughby Hotel sponsorship which is good news. As part of that sponsorship, we are being more closely monitored for what money we bring to the pub. I would ask that everyone download the ‘publinc’ app on their phone and nominate Brothers Rugby Sydney as the community group.
Then, whenever you spend money at the Willoughby Hotel make sure they scan the app. It tracks our spend and also gives us additional money over and above the sponsorship – it has been valuable to the club over the years so I would encourage everyone to download and scan when you spend.
Rodger Shannahan
Club President
ZUMBA ZUMBA ZEY!
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