Devils Jeremy Martin and Charlie Brown flank the next generation of Harden Red Devils in Tanna Brooks, Cruz Brooks, Cooper Martin and Stella-Louise Martin. Pictured at Robert’s Park on Monday afternoon.
The Harden Junior Rugby Club look set to end a 13-year hiatus in 2024, with the Red Devils aiming to field teams in the Southern Inland Rugby Union (SIRU) competition for the first time since 2011. Current Senior Red Devil and Rugby tragic Jeremy Martin led the charge, with the Junior Red Devils return ‘a season in the making’, but his proposal to see the return of junior Rugby to the town and broader community gained a lot of momentum at a well-supported Annual General Meeting on Wednesday night.
With 19 supporters in attendance, Harden Junior Rugby Club formed a new executive committee, where Martin was elected President, along with Vice President Charlie Brown, Secretary Kace Brooks, and Treasurer Alli Betts. In their first AGM in seven years, the committee accepted an updated constitution, and a robust general committee will support Martin and his executive team.
“We had 19 at the meeting, and that just blew my mind,” Martin said. “A lot of them were parents, and they are interested because of their kids, but there has been a lot of support, and people already drumming up sponsors, which is really good.” With SIRU backing the Junior Red Devils, Martin is confident of ‘fielding multiple teams’, focusing on attracting boys and girls to the club. “It’s sort of gone from having one team to being confident in having multiple teams,” Martin said. “As soon as the AGM was announced, the number of messages from parents and families was great; there’s going to be a lot of kids coming out of the woodwork to play. “It will be hard to get started, but we want to make a bit of noise, and we want to make sure we give it the best chance possible, so we are going to do an expression of interest form. “Then the plan is to come down and do some development days and get a few down here and hopefully drum up more interest.”
Martin, a proud Red Devils junior, watches his son play for Cootamundra, and he is tickled pink to see the Junior Devils one step closer to being back on the paddock. “It actually nearly brings a tear to my eye,” Martin said. “It was just a suggestion, and I said to my son, ‘We’ll get the Devils going again one day’, and just saying that to him, and then watching him play for Coota, I knew I had to do something because who else was going to?
“We had 20 league kids play at a gala day in Coota, and all 20 of them came off the field and said, ‘We want to play union’, and that’s when I thought, ‘We need to do this’. “There had been some whispers, and we spoke to everyone and asked how to get the ball rolling, and it was an idea, a season in the making as we didn’t want to step on the toes of other clubs.
“To get a committee and have SIRU’s backing, it was a surreal moment, and now to get them on the field is the big goal. “We’ll take it step by step, and it was just a dream, but I can see it becoming a reality.”
It’s no secret that Harden kids play a lot of team sports, turning out for the Rugby League and Football clubs in winter and the Cricket club in summer, but with SIRU Rugby played fortnightly in winter and on a Sunday, Martin believes it gives families more options for kids to be active.
“The more opportunities for kids to play sport, the better, and to be quite honest, I think this should have been done years ago,” Martin said. “We have a good relationship with Coota Rugby, and a lot of kids play there, and we want to keep that relationship and keep a strong bond with them. “Still, I think we can offer junior Rugby to Harden and little surrounding towns like Binalong, Boorowa, Jugiong, and other places, and kids that play footy and soccer on a Saturday can also play Rugby on a Sunday, and it keeps kids active, and gives them options.
“Plus, it’s good for seniors and keeps these young kids rolling into the senior ranks; they’ll be our future, and I’ve got no doubt, down the track, we’ll field every age group in juniors and be a real force in local Rugby.”
For further information on the Junior Red Devils, readers can contact the club on the details below or visit them on Facebook at ‘Harden Junior Red Devils’. Email:hardenjuniorrugby@gmail.com Phone: Jeremy Martin – 0422 011 175.
