2010 ANNUAL REPORT - AllTeams

Pirates under 85kgIn 2010 the Ponsonby Pirates were formed as the club’s second Under 85kgteam with 30 enthusiastic players on the roster looking forward to playing inPonsonby colours.After 5 grading games the team was put into the 3rd division of the competitionand had a win in their fi rst competition game. From there, throughout the seasonthere were some great wins and narrow loses but all in all we had great funand ended up fi nishing mid table for the season.The team always showed commitment and had a very high level ofsportsmanship throughout every game played and was defi nitely the teamthat stood out in the competition for it. A special thanks to Coach Tu Edwardsand Mason Lee for bringing their wisdom and knowledge. Also a big thanksto Ian Derbidge and Bryan Williams for allowing the team to be birthed thisyear from scratch.For a fi rst year the boys did extremely well and loved every minute of it andbeing a part of the club. They all look forward to next year and being a lotmore competitive!Luke de JongManagerlegionThis year signalled the start of a rebuild for the Legion. With a number of seniorplayers retiring at the end of last season it was touch and go as to whether ateam would be fi elded. Fortunately a new crop of excellent legionnaires steppedforward 2-3 weeks before the season was due to commence and a strong basisfor a new team was formed.Results over the year varied with a few close losses, a hard fought nil-all draw(bit like soccer only more entertaining to play and watch!) and a good set ofexcellent and satisfying wins.Many great tries were scored during a season that saw us winning more gamesthan we lost and going from strength to strength as the year went on. Manyof the new players stepped up into leadership roles and a strong core of goodfriends was quickly established. The season culminated in a 2nd place resultfor the end of year social tournament (narrowly losing to a second grade NorthShore team). This saw the Legion fi nishing 2010 with the offi cial title of championAuckland Social team once again.This year’s player of the year was Sharif Joyce. Sharif continues to gives his all,is always positive and supportive and is always a strong infl uence on the teamand our weekly results. Mike McRoberts was our most improved player managingto put more than 60 minutes into all the games he played.Again we would like to thank Tyrone and Maria for the Bond St Bar’s sponsorshipthis year. Their hospitality and support is hugely appreciated by our entire team.And now for the Legion it’s time for a summer of touch and fun before we doit all again in 2011.Mike Leroy DysonCoach and ManagerJunioR Rugby chaiRman’S RePoRtThank you!To our 642 players, the coaches and managers of our 39 teams, and all of ourparents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, one eyed supporters and everyonewho contributed to making Ponsonby Junior Rugby the best in Aucklandagain for 2010!Special thanks must go to Craig, Michael, Netini and team from Kelston Under12 Restricted and Ed, Sandra and team from City Under 13 Open for dedicatedseasons of work culminating in their Championship Final successes.Given that only fi ve of our thirty-nine teams play a championship competition,to get four of those fi ve into the semi-fi nals and two championship winners isa superb result for the club. It is the culmination of the efforts of every playerand coach/manager from Under 6s up which gives us this type of success.Our Player of the Month events where superbly attended this year. We wereconcerned that our temporary relocation to Point Chevalier bowling club wouldreduce the numbers but if anything they increased. A very special thanks tothe team from Pt Chev for the very welcoming and warm hearted reception wereceived, even though they were welcoming more than 200 kids who really justwanted to see how fast you could run on grass that smooth! Thanks also to PtChev bowling club for hosting our committee meetings - most appreciated.Prizegiving was also magnifi cently supported again this year. I don’t think I haveever seen more people attending - all the seats where full, upstairs was chockaand there were people standing outside all the doors looking in. It is wonderfulto be a part of such a great gathering. The diabolical weather which we hadbeen experiencing for the week before lifted enough to get everyone in and outwithout getting drenched. The Junior Prizegiving was strongly supported by 8of the record breaking Premier side, club stalwarts BeeGee and Cecil Williams,Senior Chairman Peter Thorpe and Ponsonby and New Zealand Rugby Legend,Keith Nelson. Thanks to everyone who made the day so special!The committee was once again sublime in their efforts this year. The2Ponsonby District Rugby Football Club (Inc.)