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Roos News – January 2022

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Welcome to Roos News

After what feels like a marathon summer school holidays, fighting COVID, masks and QR Codes, family holidays, road trips and BBL on every night, all of a sudden it’s the end of January and its time to shine those school shoes ready for this week.

It also means that after a long hot summer it’s time to start thinking about footy.  It has been over seven months since we played our last game and we can’t wait to see all of our players and families back out on the playing field.  We are as excited as you are to get out our first Roos News for 2022 and can sense the anticipation in the air for the return of the greatest game of all.

As we launch into season 2022, here is what we’ve been focusing on over the last 4 weeks.

 

Registrations for 2022

2022 registrations are now OPEN!  Currently there is an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL of a $30 DISCOUNT until 6 FEBRUARY 2022.

Click here to register for tackle and league tag:  https://bit.ly/3mbqrn8

 

Come & Try Day – 6 February 11am

Our first Come & Try Day will be held on Sunday 6 February from 11am – 1pm at Willoughby Park.  This will be a great opportunity for the kids to come and have a run around with their friends.

If your child has a friend who is keen to learn more about Junior Rugby League (or Tag) bring them along!

 

Key Recruitment Areas for 2022

Our early indications is that most of our Roos will return for 2022, but there are some areas where the club needs help from the Roos Community to fill our potential gaps for this season.

For these age groups the club will be offering a $50 Rebel voucher for any Roos player that refers a mate, and they register with the club for this season.

  • U13s Boys Tackle – As these boys head off to high school, the age group always struggles to compete with private school sport and the club has struggled to retain in recent years.
  • U16s Girls Tackle – The club is still actively pursuing this history making team for the Roos and to date we have half a team that want to play the tackle variant.

If you know or your Roo knows any kids that may want to play in either of these teams, bring them down to the Summer Squads, our Come and Try Days or normal season training and let David know you’ve brought a referral to claim your $50 Voucher!!

 

Key Season Dates

We have some dates for your diaries regarding the 2022 season:

  • All divisions and ages this year will start Round 1 on 2nd April 2022, with Round 2 the 9th April
  • A two week break will be observed for Easter and Anzac Day
  • Round 3 games resume Saturday 30th April. 
  • There will be no games on the Queens Birthday Long Weekend, or the middle week of the July School Holidays.
  • The season is planned to run through until 27th August,

Pre-Season Training

We have an update on our hugely popular and most anticipated pre-season training.

Willoughby Council is currently upgrading some of their other parks and playing fields around Willoughby, due to this the Roos have been unable to secure any preseason ground bookings prior to 6.30pm on either a Tuesday or a Thursday

That, along with the challenges that have been presented January with Omicron, has forced the club to abandon the preseason program for Parents and Younger players this season.  This is obviously deeply saddened to do this and we plan to be back in 2023 bigger and better than ever!

For our older kids, (Under10s+) we will be opening up our Summer Squads for the month of February, free of charge.  The first free session will be Thursday 3rd February, from 6.30pm at Willoughby Park, so players from U10s and UP are all welcome to attend.

 

And that is it for the first Roos News for 2022!  Please contact anyone on our committee if you have any questions or queries or please email willoughbyroos@gmail.com.

Go ROOS!

Regards

 

ROOS COMMITTEE



Roos News – December 2021

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Welcome to Roos News

Hello and welcome to the last Roos news for the 2021 Season, it is crazy to think that we are here “already” and that it has been six months since a football was last kicked in anger.

Let me start off by saying a big thank you to our outgoing 2021 committee members, Brett Matthews, Sunil Gopinath and of course, Tony Bellia.

Tony has served the club with passion and dedication that is unmatched and he will be sorely missed by the committee, as well as all of our players and parents.  We do know that Tony won’t be able to help himself and we look forward to seeing him at 8.30 each Saturday once the BBQ is firing to get some quality early morning air.

We were all undoubtedly disappointed with how the season came to a screeching halt back in June, and after now two broken seasons, the club is very much looking forward to a sense of normality in 2022.  Hopefully the footy gods will be kind and we get a full season of games under our belts in some awkward type of new normal.

2022 will be a big year of footy for the club, with the committee developing plans on how we achieve the following goals:

  • Retention of all of our 2021 tackle teams
  • Continue to expand the number of Girls League Tag teams
  • Push to launch u16s Tackle Teams for both Men and Women
  • Break the 250 mark for registered players
  • Launch Summer Training Squads for our Senior Players

Of course we can’t do it without our players, parents and volunteers who give up their time to each year to help make the Roos the wonderful community it is.  The feedback we get from parents is amazing (and appreciated) when we get compared to other winter sports and as a committee we will strive to make that community even stronger in the years to come.

Lastly, can I say what a huge honour it is to be appointed as Club President of the Willoughby Roos.

The club enters its 110th year in 2022, which is a huge achievement if you think of all the people involved over its history to reach this milestone. They would have had no idea the legacy that they have created.  The club now has a rich and proud history in the North Sydney and NSW Junior Rugby League competitions thanks to them and I hope to work with our committee, and the Roos community, to ensure that we are around for the next 110 years.

With that, I hope that you all have a wonderful and well deserved festive period, and look forward to seeing you all at our preseason training in early January.

To quote the great Tony Bellia, Look Left, Look Right, Watch Out!  ROOS ABOUT!

David

Registrations for 2022

2022 registrations are now OPEN!  Currently there is an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL of a $30 DISCOUNT until 6 FEBRUARY 2022.

You are able to use any 2021 Active Kids Vouchers for this registration too.

Click here to register for tackle and league tag:  https://bit.ly/3mbqrn8

Last season we did trial the “Volunteer Bond”, after much discussion at committee level we have decided not to pursue with this again next season.

Presentation Day

On Sunday 28 November we were lucky enough to be able to get together to celebrate the season that was.  We were very grateful to be able to host some sort of event even though it was slightly different to previous years as we did have to adhere to restrictions.

However it was a great day nonetheless, the smiles on the kids faces and the pride they showed with their trophies made it all worth it!

Congratulations to those players who attained their 50 games Awards:

Liam Baumont, Matteo Borovac, Eddie Burke, Thomas Chan, Harvey Hafer, Samuel Hage, Teddy Hall, Kai Nunn, Lincoln Taylor, Alex Trent, Anthony Abdo

A special shoutout to Matthew Bigg who was achieved a 150 Games Award for the Roos.

NEW Merchandise – Training Shirts

We have recently stocked adult training shirts in our merchandise store.  These are a great addition to be worn during these summer months, whether you are pounding the pavement or getting ready for our January pre-season training.  These are $45 and come in sizes Small to 2XL.

You can buy your singlet here.

    

Any orders can be collected within a day or two at Willoughby Park or we are offering free delivery around the Willoughby area.

Summer Squads

Our Summer Squads wrapped up with a BBQ last night to end a great few weeks of training with Hayden.

They will recommence again on 6 January 2022.  We are offering a discounted rate on the Jan – Feb sessions, which is $70, includes weekly 90 minute sessions, a personalised training shirt and bucket hat!

Since we have had some interest from the younger age groups we will be opening this for any player going into Under 11s and above in the 2022 season.  This too is OPEN for BOYS and GIRLS.

Click here to register for Summer Squads:  https://bit.ly/3q2LXfg

We wanted to take this time to wish all our Roos a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe & Happy 2022!

Go Roos!

Please, if you have any questions please reach out to one of our committee members.

Regards

 

Roos Committee



Roos News – August 2021 – CLUB UPDATE

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Welcome to Roos News

Welcome to the August edition of Roos News.

What a way to end the season with an abandonment.  We as a Club started so strong with an increase in registrations when compared to 2020, among those a huge increase in girls who had joined the Roos.   We had 3 under 6s teams, we would be fielding 4 girls teams, plus we had an under 14s boys side which we hadn’t had for a while, so it was set to be a great season.  Though in saying that we should be thankful for the games we were able to play and the success of our teams.

We are still waiting for some of the final details from NSWRL, particularly in regard to competition standings namely premierships and minor premierships, the teams affected are from Under 9s and above.  A decision should be made within the next week.

Parent Function

We know many of you were dusting of your dancing shoes and getting ready for the event of the year on Saturday 14 August.  We will look at having an event in December or January, depending on restrictions, to say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022.

Volunteer Bond

Included in the cost of registrations this year was the “Volunteer Bond”, we did state that if a person completed 3 volunteers slots over the course of the season they would receive a refund of that bond.  It has been decided that this would be amended to ONE slot, so we will be sending emails to all those that volunteered over the season about how they can get their refund.   The email will be sent out in the coming days.

Presentation Day

How a presentation day will look for 2021 is still up in the air until the lockdown is over and we look at where restrictions are later in the year.  Rest assured all players will still receive their trophies and 50, 100 game medals when we work out how we can do this in a Covid Safe way.

Pre-season Training

When restrictions allow we will commence pre-season training, even if it is this side of the new year.  It may take a different format to previous years, with smaller groups and varying times, however we will do all we can to get the kids (and adults) back out moving again.

Over 35s Competition

It was a shame after all the work that had gone into setting up this competition that it did not proceed, we will be in touch with those who registered to play to give them options regarding next season.

If you have any questions please contact any one of our committee members or drop an email to willoughbyroos@gmail.com.

Go ROOS!

Regards

 

Roos Committee



Roos News April 2021

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Welcome to Roos News

Welcome to the April edition of Roos News.

Can you believe we are only just a week away from the 2021 season commencing?  A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes with our committee and volunteers working tirelessly to get things ready.

Your coach or manager will be in touch shortly with details on the first three rounds of the season’s draw.  Our FIRST home game will be on Saturday 24th April which is very exciting as we have a newly upgraded oval to play on.

Trial Matches

On the 28th March three of our League Tag teams were given the opportunity to play a trial match against the Leichardt Wanderers.

For some of these girls that Sunday game was the first time they had played, so it was an awesome opportunity to get that first game under the belt before the season starts.

We were fortunate enough to have the Forestville Ferrets offer their home ground Ferretville as the venue, where the sun was shining and there were meat pies and hotdogs for sale!  We are very grateful for the Ferrets’ hospitality.

Season Launch

Please mark in your diaries Thursday 22nd April from 6pm for our Season Launch.  Training will happen as normal, with teams training from 5pm, asked to finish by 6pm for formalities for commence.

For those teams training from 6:30pm, don’t worry, there will be plenty of food and drink ready for you when you finish your session.

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Volunteers Needed!

Do you want to make a contribution to the Roos?  Not sure what role you could do?  Do you have an hour or so to spare on home game days?

We are looking for volunteers to take on the role of Game Day Ground Managers.

If you are able to assist please email our Coaches and Managers Co-ordinator David Zimmer at david@thezimmers.id.au for more information.

 

Merchandise Store

New items have been added to our merchandise store, Roos Polos and Jackets for both men and women.  These new items will be embroidered with the Roos Logo.

Feedback so far on our jackets are that they are warm and definitely weather proof especially during the last spell of rain we have had.

Please visit our site for prices and sizes: https://willoughby-roos.square.site/

If you have any questions please contact one of our committee members directly via https://www.willoughbyroos.com.au/contact/ or at willoughbyroos@gmail.com

GO ROOS!

Regards

Roos Committee



Roo News March 2021

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Welcome to Roos News

Welcome to the March edition of Roos News.  Pre-season training has now finished but we wish to thank all those players, volunteers, mums & dads who came to those sessions.  They were a lot of fun and we hope everyone got a lot out of them…..including getting FIT!

Toughing it out during pre-season in the pouring rain!

Training

Our first formal training sessions start Thursday 4th March, we will be split across Castle Cove Oval and Willoughby Park #2.

Castle Cove Oval:  https://goo.gl/maps/ZHx2BzTivT5p9YNn9

Holly Street is undergoing some maintenance to it’s car parking spaces, so please be mindful that parking on the street may be difficult.  Please consider parking on the other side of the park on Headland Road.

Your coach/manager should have been in touch regarding your start date, time and location.

Come and Try Day

Our next Come and Try day is this SUNDAY at 11am Willoughby Park #2.  We had an outstanding response to our last one so we are hoping this one will be just as successful.

The format will be slightly different:

U6s to U9s will be run with coaches and the NRL – footy drills and fun!

U10s and up will be run with coaches and James Swadling from Fast Twitch Performance who will be focussing on benchmarking key performance metrics.  These will be:

    • Sprint – Time over 20 / 40 meters
    • Agility / Endurance – Beep Test
    • Strength – Max Push Ups / Sit Ups over a One Minute period
    • Flexibility – Sit and Reach Distance to / past feet

The club will record performance over these metrics and then remeasure later in the year so we are encouraging all registered and potential players from U10s and up to attend.

It should be a great day!

     

Registration incentive for Come and Try

  • Any new player to the club that registers on the day will receive a $30 discount!
  • Any existing player that brings a new player to the Come and Try day and they register will receive a $30 Rebel Voucher to the referrer!
  • Referrals must be documented at the registration tent on the day of the Come and Try in order to be eligible.

 

Little Roos

Our program commences Thursday 4th March at 4:30pm at Castle Cove Oval, registration is $50 for the 6 weeks, and all Little Roos get a training shirt!   If you have a younger sibling who is keen to try it out, please bring them along for a trial session.

A 30 minute non-contact session, learning all things footy with Coach Hayden!

Important Dates

Training Commencement:

Thursday 4th  March

Season commencement :

Under 6s – Under 12s PLUS Under11s, Under13s & Under15s tag teams – 17 APRIL

Under13s and Under14s – 1 MAY

Please note as Under 12s, Under 11s tag and Under 15s tag are part of a joint Norths/Manly competition there will be no game for these teams on the ANZAC Day weekend.

If you have ANY questions on the above please contact one of our committee members or email willoughbyroos@gmail.com.

Regards

 

Roos Committee

GO ROOS