2010 ANNUAL REPORT - AllTeams

Our ‘Player of the Year’ was Richie Bluck who leads from the front with anability and rugby brain well above his age. Watch out for his name in futurerep teams. Other forwards to support him well were Peter Dyer and BransonAitken both Year 7 boys which tends to help up front.We were blessed with some naturally gifted runners in our backline. JacksonSmolenski was our top try scorer for the third consecutive year and seemsto be able to get across the line most Saturdays. Seb Mines pulled off manybone crunching tackles at fi rst fi ve and a new boy, Yannis Barroux, joined usfrom Suburbs. Yannis is very fast with a great step and was a welcome assetto our squad.Overall it was a frustrating year that promised far more than it delivered.Many kids didn’t seem to get to training on time or at all. From a squad of20 players we often went into games with only one sub, which meant somefi rst year rugby players were getting full games. We actually competed wellin most games apart from our games against Marist, Suburbs and Kelston.Results: Won 6, drew 1, lost 8.Looking towards 2011 is an interesting dilemma. From my squad I’ve got 4boys at St Peters, 3 at Kings, 3 at St Kents and there’s a big possibility they’llplay for their schools. After 5 years of coaching the same group of boys itwill be sad to step aside but I’m looking forward to seeing them further theirrugby careers. Whether it’s competitive or non-competitive, hopefully it willbe with the Ponsonby Rugby club.All the best!Luke HowardCoachKelston under 11 RestrictedWhat an awesome season of footy!Moving from 10 players on a ½ fi eld to 15 players on a full fi eld was a bigjump. It proved to be a great leveller and a full team effort was required thewhole time, but our boys were well up to the challenge!We won 14 of our 20 games, which if I’m honest wasn’t quite as good as Iwould have liked, however the games we lost were mostly very close and theboys showed some outstanding form, determination and heart.Our goal for the year was to set ourselves up for the competition roundsnext season, focussing on positional play, defensive/attacking lines andcommunication. We were lucky to have a team with a great attitude to startwith. This enabled them to build a real trust in each other on the fi eld. Whenthe boys sparked they looked unstoppable and scored some phenomenal teamtries, some with Christian Cullen-like fl are.We asked the boys to improve on specifi c skills each week and developed oneof the team sayings, “line in the sand”. The boys continually stepped past thatline from week to week which was a real pleasure to see.Our end of year prize winners were Kiriffi Leilua (Player of the year), FilomoneLatu (Sportsmanship award for entire junior club), Haini Sua (Most improved),Abel Magalogo (Nominated Most Promising Under 11) and Jerry Junior Wilson(Nominated for Best Kicker).I would also like to make special mention of Rey Ebina-Michaels, an outstandingfi rst fi ve with great skills and a good rugby head on his shoulders.Also, special thanks to Shona for her help with the fundraising.So from Mark, Fiona and myself a big cheers to all the parents and supporterswho acted as tackling bags at training and taxis on Saturdays. Thank you allfor your support and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!AndrewCoachcity under 10 openThis was my third year coaching the team. We held our fi rst training on 23rdMarch. This year we wanted to improve the players’ rugby skills so we decided forthe fi rst time to train twice a week. We also decided to put players into positionsso we could establish continuity and team patterns for games.The benefi ts of these changes were evident as the team started to play structuredrugby and play as a unit. It became very apparent during the early part of theseason that the skill level of players was improving - in particular their passing,tackling and ball-retention. The results were also very encouraging with the teamwinning most of their games and scoring many tries.We had a squad of 23 players (two players, Cullen and Siosaia, missed a bigpart of the season due to injury and personal commitments). This year fi ve newplayers joined the team: Alex, Liam, Tyresse, Shivaan and Ophire. The new playersfi tted in well. They all made huge improvements with their general rugby skills.Christian, Amon, and Charlize demonstrated great sportsmanship. Whititera,Neils, Pelesio, and Thomas made huge improvements from last year. In theforwards Ethan, Carlos and Ivan were very consistent in the general aspectsof forward play. In the backs Silver, Byron, Elias and Grayson were also veryconsistent performers and formed a strong combination. Hamdhan and Jacksonboth had an outstanding season. They demonstrated an array of rugby skillsboth on attack and defence.The team enjoyed two activities that involved the players and their families. Thesewere held at UNITEC and the Auckland Rugby High Performance Unit at EdenPark. Another highlight was the team’s personal prize-giving which recognisedeach player’s skill developed during the season.The Player of the Year was awarded to Hamdhan Tuipulotu. Jackson Scanlanwas awarded Best Performer. Byron Merrett-Fatu received Most Improved andPelesio Aho received Sportsmanship honours.I would like to acknowledge the support of the parents, especially those parentswho helped the team during 2010. My appreciation goes to the managementteam Ray Masila, John Tuitama, and Anita Merrett for their huge effort andsupport during the year. Also thank you to St Pauls College for the use oftheir training grounds and equipment. And thank you to the Club and JuniorCommittee for their support.Finally, I was extremely proud of the team’s efforts this year. I was reallyimpressed with their positive attitude and enthusiasm at each game andtraining session. They never gave up and always tried their best. There was anexcellent rapport amongst the players which was fantastic to see. They werea pleasure to coach!Played 15 Won 10 Drew 1 Lost 4 Scored 101 triesPatrick MasaniCoachCity Under 10 RestrictedPoniesIn their fi rst year as a team, the Ponies squad contained eight players new to thegame. Their inexperience was overcome with great teamwork and a competitivespirit as they produced a memorable fi rst season.Every week the boys continued to develop under the watchful eyes of coachesAndy Bayly and John Matla with guidance from Shane Howarth.The strength of our backs quickly became evident as we scored heavily againstmore established teams. With William Holmes, Terrance Stephens, Tom Solomon,Jack Stenson and Harry Finnigan we saw some outstanding team try scoring.Ethan Rix was an invaluable half back, getting the ball quickly out of the ruckand successfully setting up many of the tries.The forwards became a formidable force lead strongly by Jonty Matla and DevlinHowarth with support from James Hauser, Nathaniel Lewis, Sam Mulcock, HarryAdams and Benjamin Pendreigh.6Ponsonby District Rugby Football Club (Inc.)