Weekly news

Colleagues head to Camperdown Oval tomorrow with a point to prove. Back in May the Shammies came away with a string of results a lot clubs do not achieve at Blue Giant Stadium. The day had it all, big wins, tiny wins, draws and a gripping Kentwell match that unfortunately saw the good guys on the wrong end of the ledger.

First Round v Petersham

• Kentwell 28 – 35 Petersham
• Burke 16 – 15 Petersham
• Barbour 36 – 15 Petersham
• Widddon 14 – 14 Petersham
• Judd 15 – 15 Petersham
• Sutherland 44 – 0 Petersham
All sides are up the right end of their respective ladders with only 3 rounds to go after tomorrows fixtures.

For Kentwell this match could decided who ends up in the top two and who is left to fight for a semi final birth.

Petershamd Rugby Club, Camperdown Oval, Mallet St, Camperdown. Map Click Here

Kick-off times v Petersham

• 1st Grade (Kentwell Cup): 3:15pm
• 2nd Grade (Burke Cup): 2:00pm
• 3rd Grade (Whiddon Cup): 11:55am
• 4th Grade (Judd Cup): 11:00am
• 5th Grade (Halligans): 10:00am

Results vs Balmain

• Kentwell 26 – 34 Balmain
• Burke 59 – 0 Balmain
• Barbour 40 – 0 Balmain
• Widddon 26 – 17 Balmain
• Judd 40 – 0 Balmain
• Sutherland 10 – 5 Balmain
• Halligan 7 – 22 Waverly

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be held at Dolton House Pyrmont on Saturday 3rd September. That is the week after the Grand Final.

Similar to last year, the ball will be a sit down 3 course dinner (tables of 10), with premium beers like Peroni and Stella Artois served.

With this year’s ball being held a litte later in the season we will be including the end of season award presentations in the evenings formalities.

Awards will include;

Oldest & Boldest
Club Most Improved
Rookie of the Year
Players’ Player
Club Best & Fairest
The John Pappas Award
Honour Cap

Tickets are $260 for a couple, $150 a single and $100 for Colts.

Check out last years photos here

The second ladies day is coming up on 30th July, jump on the facebook invite and start inviting Wives, girlfriends, randoms, tinder matches and mates to what should be another ripper of a day. Ladies day is not a success unless every colleague brings at least 2 chicks! Get swiping and inviting!!

2016 Events

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

6th August  – Old Colleagues Day v Lindfield

3rd September – Colleagues Black Tie Ball

Giants!

We are definitely in winter, a few starts then stops then starts again is throwing a spanner in the works as we progress to finals. This week we have an opportunity to re-start against a pretty handy Petersham side across the grades I have every confidence in the teams this week to rip in and get the job done.

On the social side it was great to hand the Woollahra Hotel top spending award to Guillaume Dupin who averaged an impressive 23 beers a week on average. I’m sure his $150 bar tab wont last too long on Saturday night. Well done mate! Graph on the top 10 spenders below for those who haven’t seen it:

After the long weekend and wet weather wash out against Drummoyne, the Blue Giants head up the Pacific Highway to take on Knox this Saturday.

Since Colleagues knock off the KOB’s in the first round, the lads from the leafy north have been going strong.

Colleagues will have tough matches in all grades tomorrow.

Kick times @ Lofberg Oval in West Pymble

• 5s – 9.50am v Beecroft
• 4s – 10.45am
• 3s – 11.40am
• Colts – 12.45pm
• 2s – 2pm
• 1s – 3.15pm

Magnificent Men,

Great turn out for new players night on Thursday a mix of impressive and bloody awful jokes but a great introduction for the new players, welcome aboard guys!

Here we are at the half way point of the season. A couple of weeks off has given everyone a chance to refresh and rip in against KNox Old BoyS this weekend. Saturday presents another good opportunity to further our lead in club championship so let’s put in a solid effort across the grades.

Finally – Just a reminder for everyone to remember to scan your players card at the Woollahra Hotel. We are slightly behind our half year spend target to get a sponsorship bonus for the club so every dollar counts! We will be announcing prizes for most spent, biggest shout etc in the next week or so as well so gather a few teammates and head up for the test.

Manatee out…

2016 Events

9th July  – Old Colleagues Day v St Pats

16th July – Colleagues Black Tie Ball and fundraiser for the Australian Women’s Olympic 7s Team

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be back again this season. The ball is on the 16th July at Dolton House on Elizabeth St in the City after our away match with Petersham. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out last years photos here

It’s been a few years since the Blue Giants have travel to East Killara to take on the ‘Old Soldiers” of Lindfield.

Since being promoted from second division last year, the lads from the leafy north have proven to be worthy of the promotion.

Colleagues will enjoy another challenging round tomorrow at Soldiers Memorial Park.

Kick off times are slightly different to a normal away game. See below.

New Kick times @ Lindfield Soldiers Memorial Park on Tryon Road
East Lindfield.
• 4s – 10.30am
• 3s – 11.25am
• Colts – 12.30pm
• 2s – 1.45pm
• Junior Club Rugby Curtain Raiser – 3pm
• 1s – 3.15pm

In the lead up to 5 from 5 in 2011, Lindfield travel to Blue Giant Stadium and are met by a sea of red. Notice the comment by Lindfield prop’s team mate. Well into his 30s Bunsen is ready to deliver the same for Kentwell tomorrow.

It was a tough round for all Colleagues grade teams last Saturday when the much improved Petersham travelled to Woollahra.

Only Sutherland and Colties secured good wins for the home side. Judd and Whiddon both ended in draws, Burke had to kick a penalty goal on the bell to clinch a win, and Kentwell were not consistant enough to do the job.

Man of Match Performances

• Tom Borowski (7) – Kentwell
• Finn Hunt (7) – Burke
• Charlie Evans (7) – Whiddon (pictured)
• James Weaton (9) – Judd
• Cam Britten (10) – Sutherland
• Will Jackson (5) – Halligan
• Lachie Cobden – Barbour

Scores
• Kentwell 28 – 35 Petersham
• Burke 16 – 15 Petersham
• Barbour 36 – 15 Petersham
• Widddon 14 – 14 Petersham
• Judd 15 – 15 Petersham
• Sutherland 44 – 0 Petersham
• Halligan 17 – 0

Players can also access match videos on the Colleagues Player Portal. Details at the bottom of the newsletter.

Well what a week, the draws in Judd and Whiddon and a loss in Kentwell show that there is depth in Petersham this year which is great to see in the competition. I definitely felt it was Colleagues game to lose in all grades and we just couldn’t seem to convert pressure into points, credit to Petersham. On a positive note, a big shout out to Ryan Baitz this week for his starting debut in the Kentwell front row at last minute, great game mate!

This Saturday we play Lindfield away,  this is their first season back in Div 1 after a long hiatus so will be great to give them a warm welcome back on Saturday. We need to aim up across the grades and this is a great opportunity for Colleagues to get our season back on track with a blue rinse!

Special mention this week to the headgear of Kentwell fullback Cronan Healy. It may be a little bit worn but its still hanging in there.. much like Cronan

Manatee out

2016 Events

4th June – Old Colleagues Day v Drummoyne

16th July – Colleagues Black Tie Ball and fundraiser for the Australian Women’s Olympic 7s Team

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be back again this season. The ball is on the 16th July at Dolton House on Elizabeth St in the City after our away match with Petersham. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out last years photos here

After a mix day of results a Mosman last weekend, the Blue Giants head back to Woollahra Oval tomorrow to take on Petersham. The Petersham Shammies who are coming 3rd on the Division 1 Club Championships will be tough opposition throughout the grades.

In fact Colleagues and Petersham are equal first in Whiddon Cup, both undefeated on 24 competition points after five rounds.

Forwards coach Jason Monteath is confident his boys are ready for what should be their most challenging game thus far. “Our boys are primed for a tough top of the table clash against Petersham.” Monteath said. “They’ve been very consistant so far this season so we’ll be looking to use our home ground advantage to cement our spot at the top of table.”

Whiddos will be boosting a strong forward pack with new the Colleagues pairing of Will Yeo (pictured) and Ben Griffiths in the second row and Rupert Ballenger and James Dan in the front row. They’ll be joined by the strong and experienced backrow of Bibby, Hunt and Evans. And although Nick Valentine has a number 3 on his back, he acts as a fourth backrower around the park.

For Burke and Kentwell it will be another tough round with further forced changes to the two starting sides. Kentwell suffered another hamstring injury to their starting five eight, with Toby L’Estrange coming from the field midway through the second half against Mosman. His replacement, the very experience Isaac Carey, will start in the 10 jersey this Saturday.

For Burke it will be a new but familiar midfield combination of Holmes, Mullany and outside centre Jack Hale. This midfield should have plenty of chances of success from the set piece, with towering second rowers Michael Woodward and Will Milward returning to the field after two weeks away.

Out of the seven matches against Mosman last Saturday, Colleagues came away with four wins but losses in Halligan, Burke and Kentwell Cup.

With a couple of sperm whales in the second row, the Mosman first grade scrum was a force for the home team, causing the Blue Giants headaches throughout the match. That dominant scrum coupled with strong defence in and around the breakdown, never allowed Colleagues to get into the game.

The Burke Cup match was tight from start to finish but the visitors were fighting an uphill battle after two dubious yellow cards left the Blue Giants playing half the match a man down.

It was another tremendous defensive effort in the lower grades with Colleagues only conceding one try from third through to fifth grade. For the fifth game in a row our Whiddon Cup boys have kept their opponents tryless.

Man of Match Performances

• Duncan Boyd Jones (9) – Kentwell
• Jono Willis (2) & Joe Sangster (9) Burke
• Finn Hunt (7) – Whiddon (pictured)
• Mike Bentley (8) – Judd
• Angus Wilson (6) – Sutherland
• Elliot Hanna (2) – Halligan
• Harvey Duncan (12) – Barbour

Scores
• Kentwell 15 – 30 Mosman
• Burke 7 – 18 Mosman
• Barbour 55 – 24 Mosman
• Widddon 17 – 3 Mosman
• Judd 7 – 6 Mosman
• Sutherland 33 – 5 Mosman
• Halligan 0 – 26 Mosman

Players can also access match videos on the Colleagues Player Portal. Details at the bottom of the newsletter.

Round 1 vs Knox

Charlie Henley – 2, Kentwell

Round 2 vs Drummoyne

Tom Lomax – 11, Whiddon

Round 3 vs St Pats

Tom Harbson – 9, Whiddon (pictured)

Round 4 vs Balmain

Lachlan Strachan – 3, Halligan

Giants!

Well the dream run has come to an end! After 3 blue rinses our Halligan, Burke and Kentwell sides were defeated by a well drilled Mosman outfit who were packing a bit of size across the grades. The loss was a good wake up call for the club, we are not going to stroll through this competition and need to aim up every week.

This Saturday we have Petersham at home which will also be a tough game. For the grades coming off a loss it’s time to rip in and show the rest of the competition that we deserve to be on top of the table.

In other news this week… special mention to James “Dog Nuts” Kennelly who debuted at Fashion Week on Wednesday.. congrats mate!!

Manatee Out

2016 Events

28th May – WAGs Cocktail class & dinner at the Woollahra Hotel $90 per head (4 cocktails, two course dinner with wines). Email DB for a spot for your WAG daveburnett.aus@gmail.com 

4th June – Old Colleagues Day v Drummoyne

16th July – Colleagues Black Tie Ball and fundraiser for the Australian Women’s Olympic 7s Team

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be back again this season. The date is the 16th July after our away match with Petersham. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out last years photos here

This Saturday the Blue Giants take on Balmain on the most distinguished and famed event day of the annual Australian sporting calendar, the Colleagues Rugby Ladies Day.

And as the Rugby gods would have it, the forecast is a sunny 25 degrees and the Colleagues and Balmain Kentwell Cup teams are on top of the ladder with undefeated records in 2016.

Over 100 ladies have already secured their Ladies Day tickets which includes champers and canapés from 12pm to 4:30pm, and all the Rugby man-candy they can look at.

Colleagues will have their toughest match of the season thus far in first grade as they take on the 2016 Kentwell Cup Premiers Balmain. Colleagues (14) sit one competition point ahead of Balmain (13) after three rounds of competition.

Inform Kentwell hooker Charlie Henley (pictured), who scored another double against St Pats last week said “Everybody always looks forward to playing in front of a big ladies day crowd. Hopefully Kentwell can knock off last years premiers and then the boys can have a red hot crack after the game also.”

Make sure you have a good view for this one folks, should be a cracker!

Kick off Times at Woollahra No.2 Oval

• Kentwell – 3.15pm
• Burke – 2pm
• Widddon – 1pm
• Judd – 12pm
• Sutherland vs Halligan 11am

Woollahra No.3 Oval
• Barbour 12:45pm

For the first time in over 10 years Colleagues has travelled to Hudson Oval Strathfield and left with a win in every grade. In what has always been a cruel venue for the visitors, the men from Woollahra were relentless last Saturday in claiming their first Blue Rinse at St Pats since 2004.

The Judd Cup Grand Final re-match was the tightest match of the day, with the good guys getting up by just a single try. The O’Sullivan and Monteath coached Whiddon Cup side completed third match of the season without conceding a single point. This is quite impressive considering the calibre of opponents Colleagues has faced this year.

Photos from Saturday can be found on St Pats Facebook Page  

Man of Match Performances

• James McMahon (13) – Kentwell
• Michael Woodward (4) – Burke
• Tom Harbison (9) – Whiddon
• Sam Orders (8) – Judd
• Tom Weston (7) – Sutherland
• James Davies (8) – Halligan
• Sean Cross (15) – Barbour

Scores
• Kentwell 45 – 22 St Pats
• Burke 31 – 3 St Pats
• Barbour 14 – 7 St Pats
• Widddon 38 – 0 St Pats
• Judd 20 – 15 St Pats
• Sutherland 57 – 0 Petersham 6ths
• Halligan 15 – 5 Maccabi

What an awesome week to be a Colleague!

Blue rinse against St Pats at Hudson, hasn’t happened in over 10 years. An unbelievable effort by everyone involved, special mention to the “nuts and bolts” with a try on the whistle to win it… I reckon that winger who threw it out is still having nightmares!

We also had the long lunch on yesterday, was great to hear the stories and history of the club from the old boys. After that I’m not too sure what happened…

This week we turn our attention to Balmain. Don’t let the current scores fool you, this is going to be a tough game across the grades. There will also be plenty of tail on the sidelines with Ladies Day and no one likes a loser so rip in!

A couple of points on ladies day, Colleagues are hosting this event and we all play for Colleagues. As such we are all hosts and NOT GUESTS. Everyone needs to pitch in – grab a bottle and make sure the ladies have a full glass (it makes for great entertainment later), pick up a plate and deliver some canapes, help to pick up rubbish throughout the day. This all helps to ensure the day will be success and the “Bankstown Yagoona’s” will taste sooooo much better!

Start firing up for Saturday Magnificent Men!

Manatee out

Mark Blackman – 2016 Club Captain

There was an enthusiastic gathering of 200 Colleagues at the clubs annual Long Lunch. Premiership teams of  1996 (4 from 4) and 2011 (5 from 5) relived those magnificent triumphs with magnificent men. The days MC Vince Sorenti revelled in an off the cuff performance that saw the room with filled with tears of laughter as he shone the spot light on a variety of Blue Giant Legends.

Michael Cheika  revealed his Colleagues philosophy of if you trying to be a good bloke you will be a good bloke and harden up. The Australian coach was no doubt impressed with the depth of knowledge of the questions and the manner in which they were asked.

The day was a great success as a fund raiser for the club and for catching up with old team mates. Look forward to seeing many more on Old Colleagues Day June 4.

Ladies’ Man at Ladies Day

“I pulled into the grounds of the Woollahra Rugby club and it was Gatsby-esque. The clubhouse was brimming with beauty. Swathes of lavishly dressed women poured into the venue like liquid silk. The sounds of laughter, raucous chatter and clinking champagne glasses echoed across the empty rugby field from the clubhouse. This is a party for the god’s I thought to myself as I parked the car. Alejandro and I departed company but fate would bring me back to this oasis soon enough.

I completed a further seven or eight fares when the call came in:

BEEP.BEEP.BEEP Johnny – 6 minutes

The address didn’t register with me right away, I just hit the navigate button and headed back to Rose Bay. It wasn’t until I pulled into the gates of the Rugby club I realised I was back at the party, but things had changed.” Read on….

Great Posh Tour last weekend out to St Pats. Although the 1.5 hour drive up Parramatta Road to Strathfield made it feel like we were still traveling to Campbelltown, the jetlag did nothing to deter the performance of the Blue Giants on and off the field.

2016 Events

28th May – WAGs Cocktail class & dinner at the Woollahra Hotel $90 per head (4 cocktails, two course dinner with wines). Email DB for a spot for your WAGdaveburnett.aus@gmail.com 

4th June – Old Colleagues Day v Drummoyne

16th July – Colleagues Black Tie Ball and fundraiser for the Australian Women’s Olympic 7s Team

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

The Woollahra Colleagues Rugby Club and the Woollahra Hotel are please to confirm the continuing partnership between the two organisations in 2016

After 4 years of sponsorship under Ryan Hotels, the Woollahra Hotel’s new ownership, the Public House Management Group, confirmed earlier this season that they would renew the sponsorship deal with Woollahra’s most social rugby club.

The Colleagues playing community are thrilled that the partnership is continuing .

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be back again this season. The date is the 16th July after our away match with Petersham. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out last years photos here