Adam Walsh celebrated his birthday this week and will be taking on the coaching role for the Harden Red Devils in 2018. Walsh will bring a wealth of experience to the young playing group.
New Coach Adam Walsh playing for Harden in an exhibition game against a combined Hilltops side at the end of the 2016 season.
The Harden Red Devils are delighted to announce Adam Walsh as the Devil’s 2018 Coach. Adam has had a lifetime association with Rugby Union having played a lot of football in Sydney and being an integral member of the last premiership winning 2006 Harden Devils side.
2006 Devils
Back: Mark Douglass, Matthew Stadtmiller CC, Luke Stevenson, Adam Walsh, Heath Kirk, Jamie Tredinnick, Brent Loader, Rod Howe, Duke Matahiki, Isaac Potts, James Wyatt, Dallas Richardson and Simon Neubert. Front: Luke Brown, Danny Flanery, Royce Kerrison, John Manchester, Joel Blundell, James Daley, Simon Hill, Brent Turner, Josh O’Connor, Tim Shea, Angus Graham, Matty Williams and Ed Gebhardt.
Adam played Australian Schoolboys and won a 1st Grade Premiership with Randwick amongst a myriad of Rugby achievements. He said, “I am happy to be back involved with rugby and especially the Devils. I see my goal as developing the younger players and with the leadership of the older ones mould a competitive team. The less experienced players do need game time to grow in skill and confidence. I would like to see a team that is enjoying their rugby. When that happens then you start to win a few games.”
Joining Walsh will be Danny Flanery and John O’Connor who have agreed to help out and support Adam with training whilst Mark Douglass has come on board as team manager.
Flanery represented NSW Country over much of the 1990s and was an integral part of the Devils, playing halfback, flyhalf and anywhere he was needed for the club over a decade and a half. Flanery is regarded as one of the best footballers to ever come out of Harden.
John O’Connor is a former Devils and NSW Country Coach and brings an
enormous amount of experience to the club, having played and coached for many years.
He predominately played in the inside backs himself and was a very talented centre when the club was establishing itself in the 80s and into the early 90s.
Former 1st Grade Coach and father-in- law to Walsh, Mark Douglass, is returning to the club and will manage the side. Douglass guided the 2004 Devils to their first top grade Premiership with a win over Cooma. Mark played for many years in the Second Row position in Sydney.
The club re-entered the Monaro competition in 2016 without a coach before Matthew Stadtmiller agreed to caretake coach the side with the club hoping to find a full-time coach before the season started.
A full-time coach was not found, however, the Devils finished off the year going down in a Major Plate Final to Batemans Bay. Boorowa took on Bateman’s Bay the following week at Boorowa, losing the Plate Final to the coastal side.
Ethan Bates and Clint Stevens against Yass in 2016.
2017 saw long term Devil Clint Stevens take on the coaching duties, with the club moving back into a ‘South West’ style competition and away from the Monaro competition. Unfortunatley, the Devils went winless in 2017 after some very hard fought matches where they were unlucky not to take the points on several occasions.
Club President Harry Sachs was overjoyed stating, “It will be good to have Walshy, he has a lot of experience and rugby knowledge. We need to get some structure into training and our play in general. The commitment of Adam to coach has created great interest, already attracting a few new talented players with most of last year’s players wanting to back up.”
President Harry Sachs working the sideline.
2018 will see The She Devils field a side again with Katie Johnson committing to coach the team with Georgie Campbell signing on as team manager. Last year wasn’t the best of inaugurations for the She Devils, with many of the girls just learning the game and squad suffering a plague of
injuries. However, the girls enjoyed it that much they want to back up again and are looking forward to a good year of rugby.
Delta Ag have come on board as a major sponsor of the Harden Devils. They are the leading agronomy supplier in the area and are happy to get involved. The Light Horse Hotel and The Harden Country Club are sponsoring again this year, which is great for the club to have their continued support.
With the support of the Harden Country Club, the Devils Two Person Ambrose will be held on the 10th March. It is a 12:30 tee off with a drinks cart and BBQ operating. It will be a good opportunity for players, old boys and golfers to have a fun day out. There will be great prizes on offer.
The first training will be held on 6 February at 6:30pm at Roberts Park. Anyone who is interesting in playing is invited to come down. Anyone wanting to play rugby with the devils is encouraged to come to training. Contact Harry Sachs on 0428 862 713 or Georgie Campbell on 0402 487 302.
