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What’s in store
P.s if this email has been forwarded to you, please subscribe for all future editions. |
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Ladies day – 2023
There was magic in the air on the morning of 5 August 2023 as we set up for the annual ladies day, unlike most Saturday mornings this magic was mixed in with some overcast clouds that threatened to shake the day up. The men from the mountains arrived in droves, hiring a bus to cart a full contingent of teams from 5ths to 1sts + colts. With 150+ tickets sold the day began with a bang as the Sutherland Cup team ran riot to open the account, followed by convincing wins by Judd, Colties and Burke. Whiddon had a big task on their hands but came away victorious to secure a place in finals. Unfortunately Kentwell could not keep the winning streak going and went down in a very physical game to the second place Blue Mountains. Once the rugby finished the party started and our very own Will Harris owned the night with a great performance on the guitar. Follow this link to watch a video of the day. //www.instagram.com/reel/CvmJK8rge2s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== |
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Andrew Pahoff passes 200 games
This weekend against Waverley Andrew Pahoff or “Hoff” will run on for his 200th game. A massive achievement for a renowned member of the Colleagues Community. He leads on the field with his actions and words contributing heavily to the sucess of the Juddies this year. Goodluck this weekend Hoff and that’s for everything you’ve given this club. |
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Mike Bentley braves 100 games
This weekend in a do or die semi final against Drummoyne Mike Bentley will run out for his 100th game as a Blue Giant. This barnstorming kiwi pops up wherever he is needed and has been a welcomed member of the Whiddon Cup team this year, leading the way with strong carries and defence. He’s also joined the committee this year and has already helped pull together some fantastic initiatives. We look forward to what the future holds but no doubt we’ll see you down at Blue Giant Stadium next year. |
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Around the grounds
As the crowds rolled out of Blue Giant Stadium and the goal post pads were packed away one last time this season it was time to say goodbye to Saturday sport at our beloved Woollahara oval. Nevertheless, there is still a few jobs to do with all teams in contention for a premiership (apart from Kentwell). Kentwell Unfortunately after a slow start to the season but at times showing immense courage and bravery, our Kentwell men did not make the top four in order to qualify for finals. 2022 was always going to be hard to follow yet the boys at the top did a terrific job of leading the club on and off the field. They matched it with the best in Kentwell, taking down Hunters Hill (who finished first this year) yet let a few close games fall through their hands. Everyone has been extremely proud of the way these men fought this year with such a young team and we look forward to what lies ahead. |
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Burke The theme has been consistent all year, along with the form of our Burke Cup team winning the last regular season game 25-5 against an improved Blue Mountains to finish minor premiers for 2023. Last weekend they took to the field for their major semi final to see who books a place in the grand final. Points came early to a composed Colleagues team, however late in the game Hunters Hill clawed their way back but didn’t get close enough, our men winning 29-23. Best of luck in the grand final fellas, everyone will be cheering you home. Barbour A roller coaster season (that seems to be the usual case with the Colleagues Barbour cup team) is coming home with a wet sail. Needing very specific results to go their way and margins to be exactly what they need, this team has blast onto the scene in the finals. The momentum began with a thumping win over Blue Mountains 71-0. The for and against points ensured they scraped into finals and they made the absolute most of it, dusting Drummoyne 22-7 in a great game. Good luck this weekend against St Pats. Whiddon Although finals looked unlikely mid season, the team found another gear winning all games aside from Mosman to book third place on the ladder. This result was bittersweet as the opponent they were to face in week one of the finals was Mosman. Wary of the size difference between both teams Colleagues adapted an expansive game plan that saw our little general George Mallat run in a hatrick. The game was finished by a try of the year contender where the majority of the team had hands on the ball at some stage to go 80 meters to score. Good luck this weekend against Drummoyne. Judd Juddies all in all had a great season finishing second on the ladder to book a spot in the major semi final against top spot Mosman. These whales rolled out a strong outfit but Colleagues were the first to score sending shock waves through Balmoral. From here it was a grind for our Juddies who held in there but could not overpower the Mosman outfit, going down 19-27. These men face a fired up Waverley team for a spot in the big dance this weekend. Halligans/Sutherland The shapeshifting Colleagues Halligan Cup team ran out for a top of the top of the table clash with Lindfield on the 12th August to decide who takes home the Halligan Cup. Lindfield had been strong in our previous encounter and maintained their solid defence and postive attack to come out winners 0-26. Not to worry as this side has been picked in the top 4 of the Sutherland cup and faced Blue Mountains for the second time in three weekends, coming away winners 29-13. Their next task is against Mosman who went down to Waverley in the semi and will be looking to bounce back. Good luck this weekend lads. |
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This Saturday v Semi finals week 2 |
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Round 13 and week 1 finals results 2023 Click here for the full sweep of results, team lists and highlights throughout the season. |
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MJ Bale jumpers and retro jerseys still available A fresh shipment of merch has arrived from MJ Bale and a limited number of retro cotton Colleagues jerseys are available. Please reach out to Toby Cooke on 0438 144 874 with your size and preferred pickup option if you are interested. |
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Upcoming events
Round 2 finals 26th August – Concord Oval Grand final 2nd September – Concord Oval |
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Download the NSW Rugby TV App
This year, all Kentwell, Burke, Whiddon, Judd and Barbour Cup matches will be available live and on-demand via NSW Rugby TV app. Click here for full details. Anyone can tune in to watch the games live or catch replays and highlights throughout the week. |
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Top grades topple Waverley as we reach halfway in the season A jam packed edition of the newsletter including; – Long lunch and old colleagues day wrap P.s if this email has been forwarded to you, please subscribe for all future editions. |
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Long lunch and Old Colleagues day wrap
2023 Colleagues long lunch did not disappoint with a full house down at Cockle bay. Thank you to everyone who came down and we hope you enjoyed the day as much as it looked like you did. The jersey calcutta was once again a big hit and we’ll keep you in the loop with who’s on top in the next few weeks. See you at the 2024 long lunch! |
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Mid season pulse check and the first blue rinse of the year over Hunters Hill.
As we reach the halfway point in the season we have some players scratching their heads thinking wow that was fast and others hoping to body will hold up for the remainder of the year. The last four rounds have seen some incredable performances from the boys across the grades. This is no more evident than in the Club Championship standings with Colleagues sitting in top spot for the division one in 2023 and second place in the Cowboy Cup. Round 9 sees the Maginficent Men defending Blue Giant stadium against Forest. Kentwell Currently sit in third place on the ladder below Hunters Hill and Blue Mountains. Since last time we spoke the 2022 premiers have had wins against Forest, Hunters Hill and Waverley but could not keep up with a physical Drummoyne and went down for the second time this year. The team has flipped the critics the bird over the last few weeks, providing some quality team tries for all supporters home and away. We’ll keep you up to date with how this close knit group grow into finals. Burke This lot has gone from strength to strength this year with assistant coach James Robins putting it down to great team morale and post game celebration rituals. Burke have notched wins against Forest, Hunters Hill, Drummoyne and Waverley to sit pretty at the top of the ladder. Be sure to pencil in 2pm each Saturday to watch these gentlemen do what they do best in the lead up to the finals. Whiddon The wombats have managed just one win against Hunters Hill over the last four rounds with losses to Forest, Drummoyne and Waverley. They have been impacted by injuries in higher grades but like the animal they are, this team will dig deep right up to the end of the year so do not write them off. Judd The rampaging juddernauts remain at the top of the ladder with Mosman close behind. The team has dominated at scrum time but were shocked by a surprising Waverley outfit who won 7-0 last weekend. Despite water bottles being a luxury for our Judd cup team, the men are set for great things over the rest of the season. Halligans Our mighty Halligans are in red hot form at the moment winning their last four games, including a clinical display of rugby against Waverley that put a big target on their back for the rest of the year. These men are the first ones to arrive and set up then usually the last to leave and we look forward for what the remainder of the year holds. Barbour The youth of Colleagues have been impressive over the last four rounds with wins against Hunters Hill, Drummoyne and Waverley (forfeit) but could not hold off a strong Forest group. This weekend will be a big test after a long weekend turned into a long two weeks with Waverley unable to field a team last weekend. Radford With great sadness we note the end of the Radford cup competition for 2023 with Colleagues sitting tied second after two wins against Drummoyne, two losses to Wakehurst and a draw with St Pats. We thank everyone for their efforts this year and wish you all the best in Europe over the uni holidays. |
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This Saturday v Forest – Round 9 Woollahra Oval #2 and #3
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Round 6, 7 and 8 results 2023 Click here for the full sweep of results, team lists and highlights throughout the season. |
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Team of the week – Round 5, 6 and 8 |
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Upcoming Home Matches and Events
Home game vs Forest Saturday 24th June – Woollahra No.2 Oval Home game vs Mosman Saturday 15th July – Woollahra No.2 Oval (Special Argentina themed weekend with early game times to allow for travel to the Wallabies v Pumas). Ladies Day v Blue Mountains – Saturday 5th August – Woollahra No.2 Oval Watch the Ladies Day video here
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Download the NSW Rugby TV App
This year, all Kentwell, Burke, Whiddon, Judd and Barbour Cup matches will be available live and on-demand via NSW Rugby TV app. Click here for full details. Anyone can tune in to watch the games live or catch replays and highlights throughout the week. |
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| Good afternoon All,
It is with great sadness and frustration that we can confirm what we have all been expecting, our 2021 season has been abandoned. Equally frustrating is that the NSW Suburban Board have advised that for the first time since 1945, no premierships, Club Championships or individual awards will be awarded. As a Club, we will work to get everyone together as soon as feasibly possible once lockdown restrictions are lifted. I can’t thank everyone enough for their tireless efforts and hard work in getting our Club into the commanding position we were in after 8 rounds of rugby. I also can’t begin to express my disappointment for everyone involved. 2021 was certainly proving to be a very successful one for the Club and we will be sure to celebrate this appropriately when the opportunity presents. To our sponsors for 2021, we are extremely grateful for your ongoing support. If the Club can be of any assistance to our players, supporters or sponsors in anyway, please reach out to me directly. Until we can catch up, please stay safe, stay at home and look out for each other by phone, text or a fitness session if possible. Regards, Cam |
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Thanks to our Partners |
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COVID update By now you will all be aware that Woollahra is among 4 LGAs under stay at home orders for the next week. As such, NSW Subbies have made the decision to call off all of this weekend’s games. We will await further updates next week and keep you all updated as we know more. |
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Round 8 recap v Mosman
After a beautiful winter’s day at BGS the week prior, Rawson Oval turned on a typically miserable day as the Magnificent Men headed over the bridge to take on arch rivals Mosman. As always, it was a tough day across the grades but the Blue Giants emerged with some hard-fought victories in atrocious conditions. To kick off the day, Sutherland Cup suffered their first loss of the season as they went down in a grand final rematch, however they’ve retained their place in the top 2. The Judd boys claimed a tough 15-7 win to push them ahead of Mosman on the table and to within striking distance of the second-placed Waverley. Whiddon also went down for the first time this season but they remain first equal on top of a very congested ladder. In what is often a grand final rehearsal, Barbour Cup went down 18-5 in a valiant effort despite being low on cattle as a number of regular reserves lined up for Radford Cup in their semi final. Burke Cup continued their resergance, grinding out a 12-7 win as the conditions were at their worse thanks to a howling wind and torrential rain. The win moves the team clear of Mosman in second-place. By the time Kentwell took the field, Rawson Oval more closely resembled the mud baths that many of the Mosman players frequent during the week. Despite the awful conditions, Colleagues’ skills shone through with some great interplay and passing – including a cracking try for the Front Row Club as Bushy charged over from anywhere between 15-60 metres out, depending who you ask. The win ensured Kentwell stayed undefeated with an 8 point buffer atop the leaderboard. Elsewhere, Radford Cup came up against #1 ranked Manly Savers in their knockout semi final. Despite a gallant showing, Manly proved too strong and the boys unfortunately couldn’t progress to the final. Hats off to the team for a great year (so far) and we look forward to seeing you get redemption in the back half of the season. Halligan maintained their #1 ranking with a domaint 25-0 win over King’s Old Boys and the fellas are looking good for another spot in the semis this year. |
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Old Colleagues Corner From the archives – “Cowboy Cup” The Cowboy Cup is named in honour of NSW Suburban Rugby Union Life Member, Ian “Cowboy” Ross. “Cowboy”, who is well known to older Old Colleagues, was the long time leader of Hunters Hill Rugby at at time when they dominated the Kentwell Cup. During that period (late 70s early 80s), games between Hunters and Colleagues were epic battles. The 1980 Grand Final is regarded by Old Colleagues as the toughest ever played and heralded the changing of the guard with Colleagues taking no prisoners (the game included several red cards and one broken jaw) while disposing Hunters Rugby. The Cowboy Cup is an inter-divisional competition based on club championship points from all club grades and finals series results. The Mosman Whales have won this comp for the last three years, while the Colleagues Blue Giants are yet to win the cup in its 10 years history. In an interesting twist of fate, the club currently sits just 51 points behind Hunters Hill in second place in the standings. Please send any Old Colleague bits to tim_b@bigpond.net.au. |
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Tries of the Round Three Colleagues players feature in this week’s Tries of the Round on Cluch TV. Check out the link here to see Burke Cup’s Robin Allen, Barbour’s Digby Cooke and Kentwell’s Sam Bush crossing the chalk. |
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NSW Rugby TV This year, all Kentwell, Burke and Barbour Cup matches will be available live and on-demand via NSW Rugby TV on the Cluch TV App. Anyone can tune in to watch the games live or catch replays and highlights throughout the week. |
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