Kick off to season 2013 is only 3 weeks away. It has been a very long preseason but we’re finally approaching game time. In round 1 the grades have been split over Friday, Saturday and Sunday to allow the IRL to celebrate 50 years since the dedication of The Oval at North Ipswich Reserve.
Friday night, the 5th of April, will see our Norths Tigers 18s take on Lowood Stags at 6.30pm, Brothers 18s take on Fassifern 18s and North’s Opens/C-Grade take on Swifts at 8pm, all at our home ground, Cribb Park.
Saturday, the 6th of April, will see an A-Grade extravaganza at The Oval as the Mighty North’s Tigers take on Swifts at 1.30pm, West End take on Goodna at 3.15pm and in a rematch of last year’s grand final Brothers take on last year’s premiers the Fassifern Bombers from 5.00pm. West End will also take on Karalee, at 12.15pm in Open Division to start out the day at The Oval.
Sunday, the 7th of April, will see the matching Reserve Grade games take place at The Oval of North’s Vs Swifts at noon, West End Vs Goodna at 1.30pm and Brothers Vs Fassifern at 3.00pm, with Brothers taking on Goodna in the Open Division, in the early game, at 10.45am.
Now that the rain has finally left us our teams are back into full swing training. It has been a very interrupted preparation for this season but hopefully now we can get back on track and really give this year a good shake. It is great to see the boys finally back out on the field again and the place looks great under lights.
Friday night saw our first home games in over 2 years, as at long last our Juniors kicked off their season. It was fantastic to see the kids back on Cribb Park where they belong and the icing on the cake was the first try scored Friday night was by a tiger in the can bar corner. It almost brought a tear to the eye to finally see the Blue and Gold back at home and going strong.
This past Saturday night our season launch took place at Norths Leagues Club. There was a good turn out of both players, sponsors and supporters to help us kick off our year with a bang. We’d love for this event to really build into something special over the next year or two as it give us a great opportunity as a club to build relationships between our players, sponsors and supporters and to bring that club mentality back. Our first Blue and Gold Club draw was carried out (winners will be posted online later in the week and contacted to collect their prizes) as well as a number of lucky door prizes and our A-Grade, first try scorer of the season, Jersey Calcutta. The Calcutta resulted in bids totaling $1208 with $604 going to the winner and $604 towards the club, best of luck to all those who bid. The night finished off with some great music performed by ‘Genetic’. If you are ever in need of some top notch performers for an event you won’t go wrong with ‘Genetic’, a big thank you for your wonderful performance. Thank you to all who attended and supported our fundraising throughout the night. A huge thank you must go out to Paul Court, for performing the MC duties at very late notice, and to Stephen Harling for organising our TigerTVs and videos.
Touch Plus
Monday night saw the long awaited debut of our new touch competition, Touch Plus. Below is an excerpt from their website, http://touchplus.com.au/
Well last night we finally saw some Touch Plus action at our new home Norths Rugby League. A few teams lacking a bit of fitness with the extended off season but good to see some familiar faces coming back and great to see a whole bunch of new teams.
We’re excited about this coming season and with Norths Leagues Club sponsoring a player of the match for every game there is just a little bit more to play for. A free beer or soft drink is up for grabs every time you run out there so make sure you support the club after your match!
We will still accept new teams to enter this week so if you know anyone who was thinking about putting a team in get on to them and get them started!
Minor teething problems with our points tables but we will sort that out ASAP!
X-Blade Runners
The Leagues Club is still taking orders for the X-Blade runners until Saturday. For anyone who would like a great new pair of quality joggers at an unbeatable price; the shoes usually retail for around the $80-$90 mark but are available through the club for just $45. The shoes are still at the club so you can try them on to make sure you get the right fit. If you would like to purchase a pair the club requires a $10 deposit with the remainder paid upon receiving the shoes.
After a long and at times trying preseason the first game is just around the corner. Thanks to all those who have contributed, big or small, this preseason and over the last two and a bit years. We have less than three weeks until season 2013 is under way and just under four weeks until our Seniors make their long awaited return home after two years as a travelling circus. I can’t wait for the footy to start! I hope to see you all down at the club for our first game as we aim to make 2013 The Year of The Tiger!
Cheers,
and as always,
Up The Tigers!
Shane Ritchie
President
Norths Tigers Senior RLFC Ipswich
