2010 ANNUAL REPORT - AllTeams

15-0 it was a game we could easily have put over 30 on them.The semi-final was against Marist Sacred Heart who we had put over 50 onin the round robin. But the day was terrible and the field at Mt. Welington wasworse. It was certainly a leveller and it wasn’t until the second half that wepulled away and won easily.The final against Carlton was pure excitement! I do not think I could havewished for a better game for the boys to play in and win. To have a Carltonteam that wanted to win as much as we did turned the game into 60 minutesof possible heart problems, which I am sure shaved a few years off my life. Itwas an extremely close game that we won in the end 22-15.We had been planning for this win for several years – since Under 9s to beexact. Other clubs have the benefit of huge numbers playing several trialsto pick their championship teams. I knew we would not have that luxuryat Ponsonby Kelston and that we would have to build our team up to thestandard we needed, so when we got to the championship level we would beable to compete on a level playing field.So in winning this championship it came with plenty of years of planning.Some other facts about the team are that we had 16 Walter Dicksonrepresentatives that covered 7 of the 8 Walter Dickson teams. We had twoplayers make Roller Mills - Edward for Auckland West and Wiseguy forAuckland East. We played 18 and won 18.I would like to thank:• Wrigleys – Philip Hartlet – they have been our sponsor for 3 years. Weare the team we are because of their help• Netini Vaeau – Without Netini we would not have accomplished thewinning of the Championship. Between the two of us over the years wehave been a team! Thanks Netini.• Michael Mau’u – To be honest the real head coach and a good ref. A trueteam man.• Ricky Mafulu – Made our forwards a dominant factor in our grade.• Eroni Clarke – His experience and know-how of ‘been there done that’was invaluable• Geoff Polglase – Valuable asset to the team• Geoff and Lavinia Hurrell, Elizabeth Hurrell (photographer) and GavinWhite (statistician) – Their assistance with this team is very muchappreciated.In summing up, another highlight of the year was Eroni Clarke wearing aPonsonby Tie at team photosCraig WattCoachCity Under 11 Restricted BlueWe retained most of our team from 2009, however with new boys joining weagain had to get back to basics: drills, skills, fitness and tackling and with aclear need to focus on building confidence and bravery, whilst also encouragingthe boys to find their spirit as a team rather than individuals.A few weeks into pre-season we lost a couple of boys to broken arms but itwas great to see them at the games and supporting their team on the sidelines.Ben Sommerville suffered a bad knee injury which meant he had to pull out ofthe whole season. Ben has a huge heart and passion for rugby, is a fantastictackler and we have missed him and his enthusiasm greatly. Finn Ross alsohad to bow out toward the end of the season due to a knee injury. We lookforward to his return next season.Due to low team numbers at registration we were fortunate enough to get 5players from Fergusson Intermediate School: Derek Tangata, Jayden Fereti,Fonu Makira, Michael Ormsby and Bailey Ryan. These boys came with speed,determination and a whole lot of tackling power. They regularly achieved Playerof the Day and Tackler of Day awards and together our whole team steppedup and played some really good rugby.Our experienced players from last year also proved their worth on a weeklybasis. We commend Aly Moaga Sua for again scoring the majority of triesover the season. Seth O’Conner, Reid Walker, Jonty Ruha, Tudreu Davis,Ezra Shnayderman and Tane Wolfgramm all played consistently well. After amid-season move from the backline to the forwards, Joe Kennedy found hisposition and gave it his all every week. There was big heart and improvementthis season from Liam Watters and Lucca Jeanne.It was encouraging to see a couple of our new boys really stepping up andhaving some great games, notably Finn McIntyre and Joe Jacob. Ben Leeves,Luca Menzi-Smith, Nico and Kodi Botica showed us that commitment andtraining hard really can make a difference and settled into their game overthe season, contributing to our overall team effort.Our team improved enormously over the season and each boy individuallyprogressed in their skill and commitment level. We won just over half theseason’s games and I feel very proud of all that the boys have achieved.Special thanks to our coaches Stan Wolfgramm, Sam Ruha and in particularGraham Emery who has gone above and beyond with supporting our 5 boysfrom Fergusson Intermediate. Thank you also to Dorothy and Brian andMaroussia for their help throughout the season. Huge appreciation goes toKorina and Lovelock Fereti and their family for helping out with transport andsupport.And from me, a personal cheer to Naomi Anderson, for setting up andmaintaining the team’s webpage. She has been fabulously consistent inupdating both stats and photos.Finally, I would like to acknowledge the incredible support from all the parents.Many of you unnamed have contributed throughout the season. It’s the sum ofall that makes the Under 11 Restricted Blue team stand strong and proud.Bring on 2011!Julie SmithManagerCity Under 11 Restricted PoniesThis Ponies team is getting stronger every year.The Under 11 Restricted Ponies team had a tougher year than expected withthe jump to full field 15 a-side being a big challenge. We had great hopes ofgetting the boys together early but due to summer sport commitments manyof the team didn’t turn up and some had only had one training session beforethe first game of the season. This coupled with the fact we only trained once aweek meant we were always less prepared than our opposition. Our stars fromprevious years could not cover for the weaker players on a full field. If there isone key learning I took it’s to focus your energy on strengthening the base ofyour team rather than letting the ‘stars’ do everything from an early age.The second half of the season saw the team develop into a much morecompetitive unit. Our better players had the confidence to use their teammates rather than trying to do it all on their own. We developed into a morecohesive and committed unit and we won more games than we lost duringthe last two months.2010 ANNUAL REPORT35