Ohoka

Yesterday we played an extremely physical game at Mandeville.
It was actually a great chance to reflect on a season where all the players have made great strides forward. Logan and Travis picked up our team awards but they could have gone to any number of players on the field. There are times I think some of us forget that these boys are just 7 and 8 years of age. We watch the big boys on TV and start to compare. I doubt some of the current All Blacks showed as much potential at the same age.
In fact some never played rugby!
Well I am happy to say all the boys have improved over this year. Maybe they have not made the advancements we experts from the couch think they should have but all have learned a lot more about the game of rugby.
Bailey, Ben and Blake continue to show us how fast they are in the open. These boys have the ability to finish off movements once we start to pass the ball into the space a bit better. Logan and Jayden are developing their all round game. In the past few weeks they have both increased their tackle count and both are getting their hands on the ball more. Jayden's near miss yesterday showed us again the pace he possesses.
James and Sam ran strongly and tackled well. They have a developed a good partnership this year and work well as a unit. Both boys have the ability to bust tackles. John Luke again tackled and ran strongly he is another player who has enjoyed the shift to contact and he is always willing to put his body on the line to make the opposition stop him as he goes forward on attack and defence.
With only one game to go it is a bit of a shame as the boys are just starting to hit their straps.
Oh well we will look forward to the Amberley games next week.

Ashley Blue

With another a game out of the way and the result being a fantastic effort from both teams it was really tough to write this. It seemed right from the start the tension in the air was coming from the sideline. Why is it that?
Why is it that no matter how hard the children try there are people who want to make it ugly for everyone concerned. Well anyway amongst the tension there was rugby played and Jayden had his best game of the season. He tackled and ran harder than ever before and deserved our player of the Day award! John Luke tackled and made sure that people knew he was on the field every time he ran. Sam and James were carrying the ball well and Luke and Logan worked well to get the ball up off the deck. Blake's speed and his eye for a gap gets better every game and Jack increased his number of tackles again this game. Ben,Travis, Bailey all ran with pace and were great at supporting the ball carrier throughout the game.
I would like to thank all our supporters who kept their cool, unlike the ref, who, if wearing rubber gloves, may have shoved the whistle somewhere dark!
Pete , you were awesome having to put up with a Saracens style approach wish I was as cool as you.
Thanks Peta and Alicia for the chips they were awesome, especially the extra packet we found after every kid had left the table.
Ohoka this weekend up there. Lets have a smashfest with our running and our tackling.
Bring it on.