Dave Trodden NSWRL Chief Executive, Michael ‘Changa’ Shea (Harden) and Terry Ricketts (Harden).
More than 350 people gathered in Wagga on Friday to celebrate the centenary of the Group 9 Rugby League Competition at the Range Function Centre. The event saw representatives from every former club attend, with many supplying memorabilia on the day, including newspaper clippings, trophies, jumpers and blazers, and of course the Maher Cup itself, which commenced before the Group 9 competition in 1920 and continued through until 1971. Group 9’s foundations were born from a meeting held at the Grand Hotel on April 26, 1923 and which concluded in the early hours of the morning of the 27th, as foundation clubs battled it out over how the competition would be run and which teams would be included.
Mick Hill (Young) and Nick Hall (Young).
The centenary event saw months of preparation with the Group 9 board and their Chairman Andrew Hinchcliffe, spending countless hours putting the day together. Just some of the famous faces included, Ricky Stewart, Les Boyd, Cliffy Lyons and NSW Rugby League Chief Executive Officer David Trodden attend. Mr Trodden assisted the event by organising for buses to be run to get past players and supporters to and from Wagga from the outlying areas and to ensure some of the older players could attend the event.
Legend of the game Katrina Fanning undertook a welcome to country and spoke about her time in the early days before the day kicked-off and the festivities began. Several decades were touched upon including the overall history of the Group and then the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and 2010’s.
Neil Pollock hit the stage to talk about his newly released book, ‘The Maher Cup’ talking about how he put it together and how it focussed not just on local football history but our local history in our towns.
Andrew Bishop (Raiders), Chris Suckling (Wagga Brothers) and Ricky Stuart (Canberra Raiders Coach and Australian Player).
Several panels were run over the day including one with Raiders Coach Ricky Stewart. He recalled a time during a test match against Great Britain when he threw a pass which was intercepted and put the Australian side under enormous pressure. He went back preparing for the kick off and was despondent before being reminded by Raider’s teammate and Fullback Gary Belcher, that 7 minutes was a long time in a game of footy.Stewart said, “We were being coached by Tim Sheens at the time at the Raiders and he used to put us through these 7 minute drills of attack and defence. It showed us that there’s always time left in a game.” Stewart realised there was enough time left in the test match and the rest is history. Australia received the ball in the ensuing minutes and Stewart was passed the ball 20 metres out from his own line by fellow international and event attendee Cliffy Lyons, who played for the Gundagai Tigers premiership side in 1983 before heading to the big smoke. Stewart broke through the line and sprinted down field. He had fellow Raider Mal Meninga on one side and Cronulla Shark Andrew Ettingshausen in support on the other. With 15 Metres to go and six Great Britain players closing in, Stewart got a pass away to Meninga who touched down and slid through the small in-goal area, scoring the try to win the game.
The day continued with Lunch which was delicious, with an option of chicken and sun-dried tomato parcel or slow cooked brisket for the main course. After the interval other highlights from the day included some banter between Temora’s Bruce Barrett and a former player who had the crowd in hysterics. They took to the stage and an argument commenced around a decision in the 1970’s when Barrett was refereeing, showing that players have long memories.
Jamie Killick, John Killick Snr (Harden), Wayne Prosser (Harden), Dave Stephenson (Harden), Charlie Dyball (Harden), Paul Glover (Harden).
Organiser Gabe Knight who is on the board of Directors was very pleased with how it went. She said, “There was a fairly large group who stayed here until around 6:00pm chatting. The last panel with Cliffy Lyons and Greg Brentnall was really good.” “One thing I was really impressed with was the memorabilia that everyone brought. Every time there was break in the day, people got up and had a look at all of the items. All of the clubs put in such a great effort. Bruce Barrett was hilarious. There was one old war story where Bruce sent a player (Crockett) off and he had only received one week at the judiciary, so he was saying how could he have ever been sent off by Bruce?”
“We couldn’t have been happier with how it went, especially with the numbers.”
Group 9 Chairman Andrew Hinchcliffe said, “The resounding feedback was all positive, there was a good feel about the event. Lots of laughter and reflection on the good times, it was an amazing opportunity to reconnect with old friends and foes and by the end of the day, plenty of tall stories no doubt. As with any successful competition, you need quality administrators and Andrew has transitioned from a successful player and coach to Chairman. He has been on the board for 5 years. “We have a very proactive board and we are trying to further the game in the area.”
The growth of League Tag in the region and its success has provided another springboard for Group 9 who are now producing quality female tackle players. Junee’s Elise Smith signed with the Raiders last week and follows trailblazers such as Katrina Fanning who is also a Junee product and was Jillaroo number six when the ladies’ game took off. Andrew’s vision to further promote the ladies game and push for more women on the board is something which Gabe Knight praised him for. When speaking about Katrina Fanning, Andrew said, “She was in the original Jillaroos team, she was a real trailblazer Elise is now following in her steps.”
Chris Hutchison (Raiders Pathways Coach), Dean Souter (Raiders Pathways Manger), Katrina Fanning (Junee), Trish Miles (Junee) and Mark Vergano (CRRL).
The day saw a celebratory cake cut by four of the more senior players, including, Cliff Attwood, Eric Kuhn, John Kell and John Kelly. Hinchcliffe said, “That was amazing really, they are some of the forefathers of the competition, it was very fitting and they shaped what we are today.”
Cliff Attwood, Eric Kuhn, John Kell and John Kelly cutting the Centenary cake.
