Pittwater Life April 2024 Issue

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After 62 years, the Avalon Bulldogs Rugby League Club are in better shape than ever, with young and old leading the way for this unlikely footy outpost. Story by Rob Pegley Life Stories That Bulldog spirit Thriving among the cosmopolitan Av Cats are The Bulldogs. Avalon and Rugby League might not at first sight seem a natural match – footy and pies alongside the Range Rovers, cronuts and Breton tops of Avalon Now. But three years on from celebrating their 60th anniversary (albeit low-key due to COVID), the Avalon Bulldogs go from strength to strength. Spend an evening in the company of Brian Friend, Paul Collins and Dick Harris and you understand why. At a time when the NRL seems to grab as many frontpage scandals as back-page headlines, this trio of grass roots footy heroes make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Add the energy of young(ish) new President Ian Dalgleish and 22-year-old secretary Jazmin Ball, and this footy outpost at the north end of the peninsula is in good hands. Originally the Avalon Junior Sports Club, playing netball, swimming and rugby league, the Junior Rugby Club first came into being in 1962, under president Cliff Fenwick – their first meeting held at Avalon Primary School. The first Premiership came three years later, with the Under-9s winning the 1965 Grand Final. The first ‘proper’ A Grade side took the field in 1967. A renegade Narrabeen side had previously played in red and black for a single season under an Avalon banner in the early ’60s, after an internal dispute at their home club. They returned to Narrabeen as Premiers after their one season further north. The real Avalon A Grade side initially played at Newport Oval, as Hitchcock Park was – literally – a rubbish tip at the time. They only lasted for four seasons, before disappearing 34 APRIL 2024 The Local Voice Since 1991
until the early ’90s. Brian, Paul and Dick can still remember those early years and as they share banter on the clubhouse sofa, you can imagine them in the sheds back in the day. Brian is serious about his league, but a larrikin with it – he’s coached the under-6s and under-7s for an incredible 49 seasons running. “It’s because of the good-looking mums,” he deadpans. Dig deeper and he’s passionate about the kids learning the basics. “I make sure they can tackle properly so that they don’t hurt themselves,” he says, proudly. “In 49 years I’ve never had a kid injure themselves… other than falling out of a tree after training or skateboarding!” President for three years in the late ’90s, Brian was made a life member back in 1986, and had honours added in 2018. “The mums worry about their kids at first,” chips in Paul. “Not just getting hurt on the field, but also the violence on the sides (sidelines) that you read about.” Again, this trio have that covered. “I recruit referees and get them trained,” says Brian. “We always have trained referees for our games, not parents.” And an initiative started by Dick in the late ’80s means those referees are well supported on the sidelines. “We had a big recruitment drive in the ’80s when the club was struggling,” Dick adds. “The result is that we have two ground managers for every game, managing the sidelines. We don’t get any violence at Avalon.” Dick is the quietest of the three, and definitely a quiet achiever. The ‘recruitment drive’ he refers to was his strategy that brought the club back from the brink. “It was a difficult time and we were down to 84 players and only four teams – we were facing extinction,” says Paul. “Dick Harris jumped in with all guns blazing,” adds Brian of his friend. “He really worked at getting volunteers and making them feel genuinely welcome. His strategies won recognition at State level. By the time he’d finished we had 16 teams and 355 players.” Dick was president for four years at the start of the ’90s and was made a life member in 2001. If Dick saved the club, and Brian has coached the kids to be safe, then Paul is the workhorse in the background who helped build the clubhouse, and ran a raffle at Avalon RSL every week for 14 years, just so every kid would receive a trophy every year. “He’s here every weekend doing everything including manning the chip pan,” says Brian. In fact, Paul worked every weekend except Christmas for two years running in a bid to get the clubhouse built. “There was a cast of thousands at first, but they gradually dropped off,” says Paul without any bitterness. “Originally when we first moved here, we had a tent with no electricity for the Continued on page 36 Life Stories CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: Dick Harris, Jazmin Ball, Ian Dalgleish, Brian ‘Friendly’ Friend and Paul Collins at Hitchcock Park; the Avalon Junior Sports Club’s first premiership in 1965; Clubhouse opening 2003; the Life Members board; the old caravan canteen; in the Clubhouse; Under-6s on Anzac Day 2017; Brian and Paul with NRL star Sam Verrills; Cliff Lyons drew a crowd at the Bulldogs versus NRL Legends game in 2013; Anyone see themselves – the Under-9s Bulldogs from 1977 (with faithful mascot). The Local Voice Since 1991 APRIL 2024 35
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Pittwater Life April 2024 Issue

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