Season 2025 – March update

WELCOME TO SEASON 2025

Rugby update

Year two of our three-year plan and we’re on track. Thanks to our MOU with ACU, Notre Dame University and Campion College and the fact that we were able to man recruiting booths at each campus O Week, we have managed to grow our player base. Over four separate days around Sydney we had 47 people (23 women, 24 men) who expressed interest in playing. We followed up with every one of them and this has turned into around a dozen actual recruits, including friends of those people who expressed interest. We would not have a Women’s team were it not for these relationships we have forged with the universities, and we now have an alternate source of Colts recruitment that has delivered its first players to us.

We are still getting new recruits each week, directly or through referrals, and hopefully, we can replicate this every year the MOUs are in place. Two years of planning and effort is now bearing fruit, and it has certainly put some energy back into the club along with some guarded optimism for the future. Many thanks to the efforts of Jackson, Ethan, Flynn, Marcella and Adi for manning the booths and doing the recruiting.

Brothers Rugby will now be entering a Colts and a Women’s team this year:
Colts (Coaches Scott Carroll & Mick Ducie, Manager Justin Moodie)
Women’s (Coaches Rodger Shanahan & Tim O’Grady)

This means we should have two matches for supporters to see at every/most home games on a Saturday afternoon.

The seniors will again be a joint venture with Wakehurst, with the plan to have a stand-alone seniors for our 80th season in 2026.

We are, therefore, an unusual club. Last year we were the only club in the union with a Colts team but no standalone seniors, and this year, we are the only club in the union with a Colts team and a Women’s team but with no standalone seniors. We must be a scheduling nightmare for Subbies. Still, I would rather be in this position than have a single seniors team with no Colts or Women’s team.

Trial Games

We have trial games at Leichhardt Oval No 2 on 29 March with Women v Old Barker at 1 pm and Colts v Balmain at 2 pm.

The Joint Venture Seniors team have a trial game this Saturday, 29th March v Chatswood, kicking off at 3pm, at Wakehurst Rugby Park followed by food and drinks in the clubhouse. If you’re looking to play this year be sure to get along and join in the fun.

The competition proper starts on 12 April with a draw TBA.

Funding & Sponsorship

Success requires money. As part of our MOU we provide four education scholarships annually for selected students. We also don’t charge subs for U/21 players. And we lost the Willoughby Hotel as a sponsor. So we are looking for sponsors to underpin the continuation of the club’s three-year plan. If anyone knows of potential club sponsors for us to follow up, or wants to sponsor an education scholarship themselves or have their company do so, then contact me at president@brothersrugby.com.au

Everyone can also do their part in supporting the club by paying $50 for their Blue & Gold non-playing club membership.

Simply go to our website at https://www.brothersrugby.com.au/membership/ and fill in the details.

It couldn’t be easier and you can recoup the money if you come to a couple of home games and spend some money at the canteen. If you want to do one thing for the club this year but are not in Sydney, are otherwise occupied on Saturdays or just lack motivation to get your hands dirty, then the best thing you can do to help us is to take out a blue and gold membership ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who manned the Bunnings BBQ in February. We had a lot more volunteers this year, which made running the day easier. This was our second year running it and while we made a tidy profit we didn’t make as much as last year – we over-ordered and were delivered even more sausages than we anticipated, and public schools went back much later than normal so passing traffic was down. Still, we got some visibility and made some money, and we’ll tweak things for next year.

Volunteers

We need them. You can be one of them. Even if you can just assist on one Saturday home game to help set up/pack up the ground, man the BBQ, or run the line (get qualified online first), it helps us greatly. You don’t need to commit for the season.

One or two volunteers on a Saturday makes so much difference.

Having only committee members coaching, managing, running the line, setting up and packing up the ground, as well as manning the BBQ is unsustainable.

Social Activities

We’ll have a Back to Brothers Day with a Halligan’s, Women’s, Colts, and Wakehurst/Brothers seniors game on the same day. Date will be advised once we know the draw. It should be big – and fun !

Brothers in the City is on Friday 1 August. Details to follow, but put it in your diary now.