2010 ANNUAL REPORT - AllTeams

disruptions caused by building works meant that extra effort was requiredin almost everything we did. This extra was given without hesitation and thefi nal results for the junior club speak for themselves with great work done bythe committee.The Senior Club had a record breaking year this year, securing the GallaherShield for the seventh consecutive time. In many ways this year has been oneof the most satisfying with the win coming against the predictions of the widercommunity (not the Ponsonby community of course) and in times of someadversity for the team. Thanks to the Prems and Reserves for being involvedwith the juniors and showing us fi rst hand the meaning and application of“No Easy Pony”.As most of you will know I am standing down from the position of JuniorChairman after 4 years in the role and 8 years on the junior committee. Thistime has been very special to me and I would encourage everyone out thereto consider doing it. The work is hugely rewarding and it has surprised me thatthe benefi ts of being involved go far beyond the sporting world.I have been hugely fortunate to have the support of a fantastic committee andclub. It is great to be leading a successful group especially when there are somany doing the work. I must make mention of three people who have madea big difference during my time as Chairman, BeeGee Williams, Pam Adamsand Ian Derbidge - Thanks Guys.I leave the junior committee in a good place, record player numbers, successon the fi eld and fi nancially sound. I believe there will be a strong team in placenext year and encourage you all to give them every support - they have someexcellent things planned already.I will not be disappearing from Ponsonby however. Next year my youngest son’steam Kelston Under 12 Restricted will be playing in the Championship grade andI want to work with them closely. There are also some big initiatives from theclub for 2011 World Cup year and I encourage you to get involved. I will be!See you around and thanks for everything!Mark DarinJunioR team RePoRtScity under 13 openAnd so ends another successful and thrilling chapter for the PonsonbyJuniors. Two Ponsonby teams in the fi nals, two thrilling fi nishes and wins forthe mighty Ponies.The rumours were, if you bothered to listen to them, that the South Aucklandteams would take out the open weight grades and the same was said about therestricted weights, with Pakuranga and Grammar Carlton monopolising thesefi nals in years gone by. This is not the case when a Ponsonby team is in thefi nal. We are the X factor. Anyone who discounts us does so at their peril.As we know, championships are not won during the season or even in thesemi-fi nals, they are won on fi nals day. Of the teams that we could have playedin the fi nal, I wanted to play Papatoetoe as they had given us a bit of a touchup three weeks earlier by 50 odd points. There were a lot of factors involvedin that loss and for those that witnessed and played in it, not a lot of positivescame out of the game for us. I think the Papatoetoe team believed that theywere going to continue where they left off three weeks prior in our fi nal. Buta few things had changed since that loss:• we had learned from that game• the confi dence and desire had been re-instilled in our boys by the coachand parents, and• Papatoetoe played the same game plan against us which we had workedto counter.The parents of our boys can stand and take a bow, it is through yourcommitment and drive and having your sons at training and to the games ontime and in good condition that makes my job easier. The good thing abouttaking a championship team through from one year to the next is those playerswho stay another year have some experience about the team’s targets.I thought our team played the most attractive football and defi nitely had a lotmore structure than all the other teams in our competition. Every boy playedtheir part in the team’s eventual success. I hope they remember this win andwhat it took to achieve it: the rough trainings, the Heinie Mullers, the muddyfi elds and more importantly the camaraderie the boys built over the year.Big thanks to Sandra for her management of the team and the help she gotfrom the other parents here and there throughout the season. It was goodto see the Senior club members, life members and Ian at our fi nal. Also thesupport we had from the Junior club was again outstanding. Big ups to Mark,Pam, Geoff and the team.I have enjoyed my time as coach with the team. We have some fi ne outstandingindividuals coming through. For some boys this was their fi rst experience atplaying competitive rugby. For some this may be the only championship theywin. Some will give up rugby, move to schools whose priority is not rugby, etc.I am happy that if they do come back to Ponsonby after high school, their lastmemory of playing in a Ponsonby team was that as champions.“There is A No Easy Ponies Team”Notable Representative Achievements this year:Walter Dixon Eden Zone William GilletteRiver NarioBill McLaren Central Zone Samuel SladeBill McLaren West Zone Rocky Crighton, Peter Nanai, Aidan IoaneAntonio Taikoko,Jessop SwanBill McLaren East Zone Blake BradleyRoller Mills WestWilliam GilletteEd IoaneCoach2010 ANNUAL REPORT