By Brett Papworth

Have you ever wondered why some players get selected to play professional rugby, and some don’t? Don’t get me wrong, the players who have professional careers are very good, the question is more about how some players don’t get past first grade.

I have watched grade rugby for 40 years and have seen it change quite a bit in that time. What hasn’t changed is the very narrow gap between a club player and a contracted player. It never ceases to amaze me just how good some of our lesser known players are.

This isn’t news, but the age at which a player is identified is getting younger. Many youngsters feel that if they haven’t been “picked up” by age 18, then they have missed the boat. What is also unarguable is the fact that players are at their best in their mid-twenties and older, and that has never changed. Our best players are always more mature (with very few exceptions).

There are numerous examples of a player at 19 or 20 being contracted to a Super 15 club, only to be cast aside after a year or two because they haven’t quite made it. They are then replaced by a new batch of 19 and 20 year olds, and the merry go round continues.

Because our pathway system seems intent on having elite squads of teenagers (don’t ask me why, I have no idea either), size becomes a determining factor. If you want to win a junior game of rugby, just pick the biggest blokes! In a close selection decision, the big guy will win.

The size issue might be why we now have a game of collisions, whereas in the past, rugby used to be a game of catch, pass and support, and where possible, avoid the collision. Play into space, the ball will always beat the man!

So the little guy, or the late bloomer, misses out, or goes to soccer or AFL – but that might be a topic for another day!

This is where the Shute Shield comes in, and why it is, in my opinion, so much more fun to watch than the professional stuff. They play the space and don’t crave the collision. There are still lots of big hits, it is just that players are keen to move the ball where the opposition isn’t, as opposed to finding a defender to run at with the ball under your arm.

Club rugby at this time of year is full of the most talented players you can see. Many are either finding their best a little later in their career, or have been in the “system” a while back but not anymore, or are simply players who were always described as “not big enough”. In terms of skill, speed and toughness, they lose nothing to their contracted teammates and opponents. To take it a step further, I could argue that many of the club players I watched on the weekend are even better value, because they have not had all their flair and skill coached out of them by a coach who only thinks about eliminating errors.

On Saturday, the Rats came out in the second half, down 10-3, and let rip with one of the best tries you’ll see to  halfback Josh Holmes. They went coast to coast, passed the ball into space and supported. Tyson Davis, Dave Feltscheer, Chris Arnold, Jamie Forbes; names not really known beyond Shute Shield devotees, have speed and a willingness to play that you can’t beat. And the back row of Ward, Killingworth and Cunningham are outstanding. They are great to watch, but they didn’t win. Eastwood, without Hugh Roach, Mick Snowden, Pat Sio, John Grant and Ben Shorter, managed to find a way. They are tough, well coached and they know how to win. They have experience in the tight five, and cool calm heads in Perrett and Ben Batger. In Jai Ayoub the Woods have one of the best fly-halves in the business. His vision, judgement and decision making are as good as any player earning big money from the game.

Manly did the same against Randwick, Alex Northam (did I mention speed?) on the end of a long range effort, and a sublime flick pass from BJ Hartman. The Randwick youngsters couldn’t get it done on Saturday, but it won’t be long before they are again a dominant force. Manly’s experience was the difference, through Neville, Melrose and Bergelin up front, and some class in the halves through Lucas and Lane. Treweek, Woodhouse and Sigg off the bench certainly helps. Kurtley Beale’s 70 minutes for Randwick made no difference.

Which brings us to Souths V University at Forshaw. University have recently welcomed back Dave Dennis, Jeremy Tilse, Tolu Latu, Paddy Ryan and Tom Kingston from representative duty, and I thought they would win. But again, I underestimated just how damn good some of these “club players” are. Jed Holloway, Jono Hayes, Kieran Black, Andrew Leota. They have been around the block, and are no pushover. Duncan Chubb off the bench makes the front row formidable, and big Jake Douglas came on and just went “whack!” And that was just in the forwards!

In the backs, Dewet Roos at half was at his typical crazy best. Jordan McGregor is proving a superb replacement for Ben Volavola, when I didn’t think there was one around. His nerveless kick after the siren to win did Ben proud.

Asquith, Godinet, Pakalani, Gibbon and Finau round out an outstanding backline. They have speed and flair and are not scared to use it, so they are never beaten. A very capable and dangerous team.

Sydney University are an amazing club. Club Champions for about the last 15 years. More professional, fitter, faster, stronger than pretty much everyone else. They are more expansive in recent years under Chris Malone, but they still rely on doing the basics better than everyone else, and doing it for longer. It works 90% of the time, but at this time of year, against smart teams, you have to have more. Whilst it is nice to have the Super 15 players back on board, and should raise the standard, it can also be a problem. The players back from Super 15 play a collision game, and South’s were ready for that.

So to this week’s Grand Final Qualifiers: Manly will host the Students, and an interesting battle looms. Manly have been consistently the best team for a couple of seasons now, but face the same hurdle they have been unable to conquer the last few years, the dreaded Preliminary Final. Sydney University will be even more dangerous having lost last week, and they have the experience of many finals under their belt. But will they learn from last week, or become even more stubborn in the execution of their game plan. I sense a different Manly this year under coach Cummins. Surely, this time, they will get past this weekend?

Eastwood play host to Southern Districts, and they have already played two one point nail biters this season, so I expect something similar. As an Eastwood man, I hope the boys can provide the perfect send off for Hugh Perrett and Ben Batger, and I know they will be very hard to beat.

But this South’s team worries me, a lot. They have the speed and flair that makes the Shute Shield such a great spectacle. And for that they should be thanked, and feared in equal measure.