2010 ANNUAL REPORT - AllTeams

JunioR team RePoRtScity under 12 openThis was our second season playing full fi eld and fi rst year playing championshipwith a core of players from last year and with half of the 23 player squad newto the team.The season’s results will show that we:• played 17 games, won 13 and lost 4• scored 602 points for and conceded 313• progressed to the semi fi nals and lost to Papatoetoe who came 2ndoverall• fi nished 3rd overall• had 7 players selected for representative honours, and• had 6 players selected for combined under 12/13yrs Ponsonby team thatparticipated in and won the NZ Junior Rugby Festival in Taupo (10th-12thSeptember) Under 13yrs grade.It was a successful season in many respects but, being the club and team thatwe are, we continue to strive to do even better next season. Many thanks toLianne who does a lot of work behind the scenes; her boys, Jayden and Reagan,who never shirk from doing whatever it takes to get the team organised andhelpful parents, such as Winston, Kevin, Steve and Lance, who contributed attrainings and games in many ways. They were well supported by Lana, Ken,Arnette, Rob, Marla, Junior, Mike and Joanna who assisted with fundraisingprojects during the season.This season has been all about “stepping up”. Stepping up in terms ofimproving one’s own personal fi tness, skill levels, tactical awareness andtechnique. Balancing this with ensuring that it’s fun while improving playerrugby knowledge and being aware of player maturity and parents’ expectations.A challenging balancing act in many respects but one we have enjoyed duringthe course of the season.Unlike other teams our season offi cially fi nished after our end of season trip toWellington (24th-28th Sept) where we played two games: Marist St Pats andPoneke. It was a long season but this was a great way to fi nish it. We wish ourplayers, parents and families an enjoyable non-rugby related summer. Bringon the 2011 Rugby World Cup season!Harry Poi and Russell Su’aCoachesu12 trip to Wellington 2010Our season has fi nally come to an end following our trip to Wellington. Theteam was well behaved throughout the trip. We stayed at the Taraika Maraeand at the Grand Chancellor Hotel where the boys experienced living withteam mates in two different environments outside of their comfort zones.They laughed, joked, made heaps of noise and bonded together. We playedtwo games and connected with two clubs.We achieved our objective of taking the team away playing footy and havingFUN...Parents, if your son seemed a bit bleary eyed on return, all I can say is, whathappens on tour stays on tour.Russell and I thank you for allowing us to take them on the trip; we thank theclub - Pam, Mark Ian and Geoff for their help and support.To Rachel, Richard and Buck from NZRFU, thank you for the tour of HQ – acomment from one of the boys whilst holding the Bledisloe Cup “look I’mholding the same cup that Richie held...” priceless! My son has asked canyou please pass a message on to GH re next year – SBW!To Raj, thank for making it all happen and working right up till the lastminute.Finally to Andrew, Ken, Steve and your teams from MSP and Poneke thankyou for the games and for hosting us, we wish you all the best for the future.And if I’ve missed anyone, thank you.Have a safe holiday.Harry and Russellcity under 12 RestrictedWon 10, Lost 2Points for 439, against 124After a late start the challenge was to get boys from two teams and mould theminto a cohesive unit. With the help of Saun O’Neill as assistant coach and JohnChisholm as manager, we set our goals to build the team up to championshiplevel and have some fun along the way.We had some additional boys join us during the season which bolstered oursquad to 22 keen and enthusiastic players who contributed a variety of skills,matched by commitment.It became apparent that our team had improved because when we faced teamsthat we only just beat in the fi rst round, we won easily the second time we metthem. This was done through strong forward play, quick ball, then spinning theball wide which resulted in long runs and quite often tries being scored.Thanks for the contribution that Toby Ellis and Solomon Wolfgramm made asCaptain and Vice Captain. They also featured at the prize giving along with JackO’Neill for making the Walter Dixon rep side. Jack Connor for Most improvedplayer and Alex Wolf for Sportsman of the Year.Thanks to Willie Gillette who gave me guidance at the beginning of the seasonand Mark Hauser for getting some of the Blues training staff along to trainingwith their expert knowledge.Special thanks to the parents and caregivers who got the boys to trainings andgames, then cheered them on in true Ponsonby spirit. Look forward to seeingyou all next year to compete in Championship Rugby.Finally my thanks to Ponsonby Rugby Club and the Junior Committee for theirhelp and support throughout the yearRussell GantCoachKelston under 12 RestrictedWhat a year 2010 was for our team! We took out the Under 12 RestrictedChampionship and along the way built up a team spirit that will stick in ourhearts for a very long time.The year started off extremely well with some very good acquisitions to analready balanced team. Fitness training played a very important part to thepre-season, with Michael putting them through some very pleasant fi tnessdrills that the boys loved and cried out for. Especially doing the hill - the boyscouldn’t get enough!The fi rst games lined up were against Karaka and Ardmore Marist, ourprovincial cousins. Karaka wanted payback, or further punishment at the endof the season too, when we played them in our last game of the year.The championship was of course our focus and our No. 1 goal was to reachthe fi nal. We had some tough games and some not so tough. But it wascertainly clear this championship was a two horse race with the only twoteams capable of winning it being ourselves and Carlton. Our round robingame was played with plenty of confi dence and even though we only won4Ponsonby District Rugby Football Club (Inc.)