A great day for Convicts rugby on Saturday with two big wins in Halligan and Walker Cup. It was an excellent club effort and fantastic to see plenty of guys on the sidelines backing up and supporting at both games. The standard of rugby continues to improve helped by fitness and combinations becoming a bit more established. The new boys are settling in very well and are an exciting feature of both Halligan and Walker Cup – the future looks bright for the Convicts. It was brilliant to see the return of some much-loved Convicts veterans on Saturday – their presence helps the new guys a lot, providing an important balance of experience.

The Walker Cup is as hoped providing some excellent motivation as well as providing greater certainty for both teams. But it was no coincidence our best day of rugby of the season followed a strong turnout at touch and Tuesday fitness and I think one of our better turnouts on Thursday for the year. The link between training and Saturday performance is pretty clear. Let’s all get to Thursday training, make the most of the session and have two wins this Saturday.

Strong start to the year for Colleagues – well done Jay Z

Colleagues are having a strong start to the year and are currently in 2nd place on the Division 1 Subbies Club Championship, a trophy they have won more than any other club. The first grade (Kentwell Cup) team is also going well in 4th position and our very own Jay Z is having a big impact. Jay has made the rapid transition to Kentwell without skipping a beat and has consistently been a strong performer for Colleagues. Last weekend against Iggies Colleagues won every grade except Colts and romped it in 52-17 in Kentwell Cup. Three tries and man of the match went to Jay, who was making his debut on the wing. Well done Jay, we are very proud of your efforts mate and hope you guys bring home some silverware in 2011.

This week’s games – St George and Petersham

This week Halligan is at Petersham (Camperdown Oval) at 10am and Walker meets St George at CA Redmond at 12.55pm. We got a bit closer to the Rockdale boys on Saturday after we leant them our jerseys – it’s great to have a bunch of new Convicts on board! They have been very impressed with our playing style and are keen for us to hang around after the game and watch 2nds and 1sts. So don’t be shy, say g’day and make yourselves at home at CA Redmond, they are very happy to have us there.

Rugger Bugger – 10 days away

Rugger Bugger, our most important fundraiser, is shaping up to be a cracker on 28 May.It’s only 10 days away.
See the poster on our homepage – share it on facebook, email it to your mates – sell those tickets. Tickets are also available at daisytickets.com, the Shift and Bang.

Go Convicts!
Dave

Great start to the Walker Cup

It was a solid weekend of rugby for the Convicts with a convincing win in the Walker Cup against Brothers and an unlucky hard fought draw against Epping in Halligan. Well done to the lads who played a strong first half of hard hitting rugby in our Walker Cup debut at Rockdale. A loss of focus and a revival by Brothers left us defending most of the second half. After 30 minutes of solid defence, a try in the dying moments allowed Brothers to finish with points on the board. Thanks to Charlie for stepping into the coaching role to lead us to a great start in the new comp.

We have committed to play the remainder of the Walker Cup season, with comp games until 23 July followed by three weeks of finals. It’s a shortish season so make the most of it - don’t miss a game. Subbies have kindly given us seven competition points to allow for the four rounds we missed, which places us third on the ladder. This week we meet a much tougher competitor, Merrylands at Holroyd. In five games Merrylands have scored plenty of points, suggesting they know how to get over the try line. It will be a real test and we need everyone at training.

Convicts spirit strong in Halligan Cup
It was brilliant to be part of the spirited performance by the Halligan team at Epping on Saturday. In true 2s tradition, a real mix of guys, many of whom didn’t know each other that well and many of whom were pretty new to rugby, fought to the very end and had a great time doing it. Having led the whole game, a couple of injuries in key positions left us defending our for most of the 2nd half. Epping managed to level the scores and that’s how the game finished. Well done to the newbies who put in an inspirational effort. It’s really important that if you are playing Walker Cup you try and get to the Halligan game to backup or just support on the sidelines. There’s always someone who will give you a lift.

ACON Pub Crawl – Drama Downunder - Tonight
ACON has launched its latest men’s health campaign, called Drama Downunder and organised a pub crawl starting at the Beresford at 8.30pm tonight and finishing at the Shift. These events are a great chance for us to give back to the community that has helped us so much in the last seven years. Please wear the 2011 Convicts ACON/Shift t-shirts – there will be some available tonight. Starts at the Beresford straight after training.

Rugger Bugger – Saturday 28 May - Midnight Shift
The shows are heaps of fun for everyone is keen to be involved so if you think you don’t want to be involved in this crucial Club activity. Don’t forget to get your tickets early.

C’mon Convicts!

Dave
President

The Walker Cup

If you were at Tuesday fitness, and it was great to see plenty were, you will have heard my announcement about an exciting rugby development for the Convicts. NSW Suburban Rugby (Subbies) has invited us to join the Walker Cup, which is Division 4, 3rd Grade and has recently lost two teams. We would enter our 1sts team in this comp while the 2nds would remain in the Halligan Cup. We see this as a great opportunity for a number of reasons:

• Our 1sts would have a known draw with a consistent game time – 12.55pm
• Grounds and referees are pre-booked for the year
• Walker Cup includes a final series, unlike Halligan
• It will provide us consistent competition as we prepare for Bingham 2012
• Our 2nds will be virtually guaranteed a Halligan game every week
• Convict players are eligible to play for either team and finals

We play in the comp as Colleagues Convicts, replacing Rockdale’s 3rd Grade side and play many of our “home” games at Rockdale against the club visiting Rockdale. We would play away with Rockdale also. We will endeavour to play some of these “home” games at Colleagues subject to agreement from the opposition clubs.

It looks as though there will be just five teams in the Walker Cup, meaning we would have a bye every five weeks. We would be able to play Halligan Cup in these bye weeks and this would provide further opportunities to play at Colleagues. The top four teams play finals and competition games are 60 minutes.
You might remember that the Convicts have played in non-Halligan comps before, having competed in both 1st and 2nd grade 5th Division- Noice and Jefferies Cup - which was very important in setting up the club for our most successful Bingham Cup in New York, when we won both the Bingham Cup and Plate in the same competition.

Why the Walker Cup is good for the 2nds too

We think the Walker Cup is very good for the 2nds team as well as the 1sts. It’s been quite difficult to organise two Halligan Games every week. By having only one team in Halligan, it will virtually guarantee a game every week for the 2nds (subject to weather!).

All Convicts can play freely in both comps, so our strategy of sharing game time between 1s and 2s to aid player development will continue. A number of players will be asked to play in both games. It will be a lot easier to book Halligan games that fit around Walker Cup, given a consistent kick-off time.

Walker Cup (1sts) @ Rockdale 12.55pm; Halligan Cup (2nds) @ Epping 9.50am

We will play our first game in the Walker Cup against Brothers at Rockdale this Saturday 7 May (Happy Birthday Gus) at 12.55pm. More info on the Walker Cup and who’s in it can be found on the Subbies website under Draw/Results: http://www.rugby.net.au

The 2nds will play at Epping at 9.50am. Ben and Brett will send out full details for the games this week but we will be looking to win both. A number of players will be asked to be available for both games. It’s a bit of a hike from Epping to Rockdale but we can car pool to make it easier.

Post-match fun – Tahs again this week.

Attendance at Bar Cleveland and the Shift last week was excellent. Some great rugby, good food and good company were enjoyed by about 30 Convicts – This week the Tahs have the Force at home. There’s a number of Convicts who go along to the games at the Stadium regularly, ask Jumbo about it if you want to join in the fun. Otherwise we’ll be back at Bar Cleveland – Jumbo and Dale will provide full details. Gus might even let us buy him a beer for his birthday.

ACON – Convicts Pub Crawl – Thursday 12 May

ACON has launched its latest men’s health campaign, called Drama Downunder. As part of our great relationship with this crucial community organisation, we will be staging the ACON – Convicts Pub Crawl on Thursday 12 May after training (see attached flyer). We need a big bunch of Convicts to accompany a bunch of ACON boys up and down Oxford Street spreading the word about men’s health. These events are a great chance for us to give back to the community that has helped us so much in the last seven years. We want a commitment from both senior players and newbies to attend this important event in Convicts t-shirts. Please let Charlie know you are happy to get involved.

Rugger Bugger – Saturday 28 May - Midnight Shift

Rugger Bugger needs Convicts fully behind it to succeed. Get involved! We will have pre-sale tickets available and EVERY Convict needs to bring 10 mates. This is our major fundraiser and one of the most important contributions you can make to the Club. Please tell your family, friends and workmates now to mark their diaries for 28 May. Contact Fezzy to find out how else you can help: nafezbey@y7mail.com
Facebookers wanted

C’mon Convicts!
Dave
President