Bonjour Raiders,
Well, what a cracking season!!
I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of our Raiders play throughout the year – including a couple of Premierships on the weekend, and the final round of the 13 girls 7’s – and I just loved it!
Our boys and girls represented the Raiders beautifully!
They all played the game the way it should be played….the Raiders way! Tough, fun, fast and fair! Bloody ripper.
Some season highlights on the field:
- 6 of 8 Junior teams made Finals
- 2 teams won Premierships – congrats U10 White and U10 Gold
- We fielded our first ever team in the U14 XV’s comp
- We won the U15’s Girls Sizzling 7’s earlier in the year, and in the Frosty Girls 7’s we finished 3rd in the U15’s, and 4th in the U13 Girls Whites and Blacks
- Strong performances from the U8 & U9 Gala Teams in the Harlequin Cup and King of the Hill
- Week in week our brilliance from our Mini’s
- Our Raiders boys and girls were littered heavily across the Manly Rep squads
- ….but best of all, we had in excess of eleventy billion smiles across our Mini’s, Juniors and Girl’s faces throughout the season….not to mention their parents!!!
More significantly than results and the style of play, the most important thing about rugby is to learn to win with grace and humility! The second most important thing is to learn to lose with grace and humility! And that was on display constantly throughout this season, particularly at the pointy end….and that made me immensely proud!
The boys and girls were coached, managed and supported the same way! Thanks to you all for all your efforts getting your kids around Sydney, for setting up on those winter mornings when you’d love to be in bed! For turning the snags or helping out in the canteen! Thanks for everything.
Massive thanks to our coaches and managers for your incredible effort, passion and commitment to providing the kids with the greatest rugby experience we could hope for. Premierships and wins are terrific, but smiles on kids faces playing the greatest sport in the history of mankind is even better! That’s why we do it!
And a monstrous thanks to our committee members who work tirelessly behind the scenes to get the kids on the field each week….we have 8 committee members moving on this year, so put yourself out there and sign up to fill the gap! You’ll LOVE IT! The more you put in, the more you get out! Hit up myself or any of the committee members to see how you can get involved.
Jersey’s – PLEASE – return your kid’s playing jerseys to your manager ASAP!!!
End of Season Party is this Saturday – it’s not too late to get tickets….and you don’t want to miss out – tickets here – https://raidersrugby.square.site/
Trophy presentation is at Bantry this Sunday from 2pm. Order as follows:
- 2pm – 5pm: Jumping castle
- 2.15pm: Free barbie (and beverages for the adults) served
- 3pm: Individual team trophy presentation
- 3.30pm: All club come together for a photo and major club prizes
- 5pm: Event ends
Pls register your attendance here so know how many snags to buy: https://www.cognitoforms.com/Raiders1/RaidersEndOfSeasonPresentation
Pls sign up to help here – https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044EAEA82CA6FC1-2023
That’s it for now folks – can’t wait to celebrate a great season with you over the weekend!
UP THE RAIDERS. GO THE WALLABIES!
Cheers,
Luke Hannan
Raiders Junior Rugby Club President
