NORTH HARBOUR RAYS

by Paul Cook –

The North Harbour Rays brings together players from Manly, Warringah, Northern Suburbs and Gordon under the tutelage of Gordon head coach,  Geoff Townsend. Stacked full of players that impressed throughout the Shute Shield season, the Rays can boast two Super Rugby experienced scrum-halves in Matt Lucas and Josh Holmes alongside the recently announced Ken Catchpole Medallist, Hamish Angus at flyhalf so they certainly have the tools to guide them around the park. If they can be the glue between a gnarly pack and a pact back line, this side could go some way towards emulating the feats of their predecessors, the Central Coast Rays who took out the ARC back in 2007. They will play their home games out of Brookvale Oval.

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THE SQUAD:

WALLABIES: Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu, Scott Fardy

SUPER RUGBY REPRESENTATIVES: Matt Lucas (NSWC WARATAHS, Cam Crawford (REBELS)

FORWARDS: Ryan Melrose (Manly), Michael Wells (Northern Suburbs), Sam Ward (Warringah), Kotoni Ale (Manly), Jack Dempsey (Gordon), Harry Bergelin (Manly), James Cunningham (Northern Suburbs), Ed Gower (Manly), Dane Maraki (Manly), Nick Fraser (Gordon), Luke Holmes (Warringah), Dave Porecki (Manly), Mitch Lewis (Manly), Kevin McNamara (Northern Suburbs), Boyd Killingworth (Warringah), Rory O’Connor (Manly)

BACKS: Sam VaeVae (Manly), Hamish Angus (Warringah), Scott Daruda (Manly), Josh Holmes (Warringah), Dave Feltscheer (Warringah), Sireli Tagicakibau (Warringah), Harry Jones (Warringah), Michael Adams (Warringah), Brian Sefanaia (Manly), Tom Matthews (Gordon), Terry Preston (Gordon), Malietoa Hingano (Manly)

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THE COACH: GEOFF TOWNSEND

You were involved as an assistant back in the 2007 ARC with Perth Spirit, did that give you some advantage in terms of what this competition involves?

“I think what we learned was that at the back end of the season, you’re getting players that are pretty run down and beaten up and we used an inordinate amount of players in that competition – something like 37 – and we were tracking players down even for the last game in Sydney. We played the Rams at Parramatta and we had to find two club players from Sydney to finalise our squad so we’re aware of the probable fatigue of the players and that we have to monitor how many games each player in your group is playing across the season. With pre-season, then a long club season it’s a long year and we’ve had guys away with the Waratahs Sevens as well so the travel has to be monitored and things like that so that’s something I definitely learned from the ARC, player management is crucial.”

You’ve been around the traps a bit since then with the Western Force and obviously with Gordon this year. Do you feel you’re a better equipped coach now?

“I think you learn all the time, every year brings something new and I’m confident that with the coaching group I’ve got around me and the playing group we have we will give a good account of ourselves. It’s not just about one individual person, it’s about the group as a collective.”

You came into things a bit late – as head coach anyway – after Phil Blake announced his departure to the UK. Was there much in place at that time or have you made a fresh start since taking over?

“The four club coaches met very early and we brought an extended squad together to kickstart the process and there were a few things put in place then but we didn’t do too much at that stage. Phil had some ideas and some of those ideas we will bring into our program as well.”

Why does Australian rugby need the NRC?

“It’s a great pathway for the next generation of players. It unearthed a lot of great players the first time around and rather than invest money on big money imports, we might find those kinds of players in this competition. It’s a great opportunity, a great pathway and a chance for these young guys to show their wares in a tough competition.”

Rays Coaching Team: Head coach Geoff Townsend (centre) flanked by assistants Damien Cummins (L) and Haig Sare (R). Former England international Michael Lipman is also on board.

It’s a pathway for coaches too isn’t it?

“Without a doubt. You look around at the coaches involved and there’s a lot of experienced coaches and excellent coaches but I think even more so, it’s important for the assistants around them, guys like Haig Sare, Damien Cummins and Michael Lipman at the Rays. These guys could go on and be our next batch of coaches at the next level so it’s important that they get the exposure and are given the opportunity a level up from where they are in club rugby.”

Do you have a specific style you want to bring to the Rays?

“It’s interesting. Most of our players come from two clubs, Manly and Warringah and there’s two distinct styles there and the challenge for us when we bring them all together is to set the style and standard that appeases both and takes into account the good young players we’re bringing in from Gordon and Norths as well. It will be an interesting mix.”

The Central Coast Rays were the inaugural winners of the ARC, you feel you have the squad to achieve a similar result this time round?

“It’s probably too early to tell. You’ll get a better gauge two or three weeks into the season but I’d like to think well be competitive in every game and if that’s the case we could come out and surprise a few teams because we won’t have the experience of some of the other groups. In saying that, there’s 30-odd hungry players chasing contracts in this group.”

What’s the key ingredient to getting a buy-in from supporters for the Rays? Style, success, interaction with your (potential) fan base?

“Development of players is paramount but the interaction with your public is also important. We’re doing our final session each week at a school in the area so we’re going to try and get a buy-in and forge a pathway to the Rays to all the young guys in the schools. It might be Knox College, it might be St Augustine’s – we’ll be doing sessions down there to show who we are, what we’re about and introduce ourselves to the young students there and that’s important for us.

“We’ve also instigated a junior development team so we’ve got an under 21’s side that will be playing a curtain raiser against the Rays, will be playing the NSW U20s and might have a game against the Australian Barbarians as well so again, that’s giving those aspiring guys who will be the next Rays in two, three, four years time a chance to come out and see what it’s about. We’re trying to build a long term culture and identity for the club and getting the kids in the local schools wanting to play for the Rays, that’s very important.”

Flyhalf Hamish Angus has just won his second Ken Catchpole Medal in three years as the best player in Sydney club footy. The NRC offers him the spotlight with which to snag a professional contract

How hard is it to graft players who are rivals week in, week out – some of them geographical and historical rivals – to gel together under one banner?

“It’s not too difficult. Whilst there’s rivalry between the various clubs, the players themselves have an appreciation for that rivalry but don’t know too much about the animosity that may have occurred between the clubs in the past so they’ll get on like a house on fire and they’ll work for each other. Even in the few sessions we’ve had, there’s been great camaraderie between the boys and as soon as Manly were knocked out of the Shute Shield, there’s no more talk about Manly, Warringah, Norths or Gordon, it’s all about the Rays from now on. We might have to put fines in for anybody mentioning them!”

How hard has it been trying to bring a team together and implement your ideas when you’ve had so little time with them?

“The first game is going to be interesting. We’ve had five guys away with the Waratahs Sevens who didn’t come back til Wednesday and we won’t train together until the Friday before the match. Fortunately, we’ve got a Sunday game which helps us out a bit and then we’ve got a bye in the second round so that two weeks after Sunday’s game will give us a chance to really work on our style and our identity. Hopefully we’ll get to see some good footy across the board in round one and I think, as the season progresses and teams settle, we’ll see plenty of improvement and footy that will attract the interest of the public and people will be all over it.”

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THE CAPTAIN: GREG PETERSON

How exciting is it to be a part of a new competition and a founder member and captain of a new team?

“It’s very exciting and obviously, not an opportunity that comes around very often. To be the first captain of the North Harbour Rays is something special.”

What does the NRC mean for rugby players in Australia?

“It really gives the opportunity for young players or developing players to make their stamp on rugby in Australia, one they wouldn’t otherwise have simply by playing Shute Shield or Junior Waratahs etc. It’s a very good stepping stone for players that want to make the next step that are willing and wanting and talented enough to do that.”

Given you haven’t had as much game time at Super Rugby level over the last couple of years and that you are off contract, this is a terrific opportunity to get some top level footy under your belt and put yourself in the shop window for next year isn’t it?

“It gives me an opportunity to show what I can really do. I felt like I was really starting to hit my stride in the Shute Shield this year and now the NRC comes straight after it, hopefully I can go full-bore into it and play some excellent footy that people want to see me play.”

Thursday night matches, Sunday arvo matches, state/interstate derbies every week, travel around the country, a whole host of new venues and some different laws to play under. It’s going to be a bit out of the box isn’t it?

“Definitely. I don’t think rugby has really solidified its position in Australia yet and I do think we have a chance here to experiment. People do like the local derbies, they want quick footy, they want it fast and they want to see a lot of points scored so this competition could be a very good stepping stone for Australian rugby.”

Greg Peterson is hoping his form can translate into another professional contract in Australia

Which of the laws are you happiest to see adopted?

“I do like the change in the points scoring system. You will very much be shooting for an eight point try rather than a two point penalty kick. Two penalty kicks used to get you more than a try but now you need four penalty kicks to get the equivalent amount of points as a converted try so hopefully, the days of the crowd moaning when teams take a penalty shot is over. They’ve also sped up people taking kicks at goal and they’ve sped up the scrums, which will probably give us five to eight extra minutes of game time per match which can only be a good thing.”

You’re only 23-years-old but you’ve now captained your club side this year and are now captain of a representative side in a national competition. Do you enjoy being a leader and how do you find leading guys who are older than you and have been around a while?

“A lot of the older guys like the Holmes brothers, Luke and Josh, I’ve got s deep amount of respect for them. I’ve played a fair amount of footy with them and against them and I’d like to think they have the same amount of respect for me. That makes my job a little bit easier because, instead of them just looking to me, I can also look to them for advice and I’m bouncing ideas off Luke Holmes all the time because he is my vice-captain. If I had a much younger team than myself, I’d be the only one speaking whereas, I don’t have to talk all the time because I have these older heads around me and we can have those conversations together about which decisions to take and why so it’s a big help.”

How hard has it been to try and keep one eye on the Rays and what was about to happen when you were deep into a club rugby season with Manly?

“It was a case of thinking ‘The Rays are a couple of weeks away and I’ve got a job to finish right here’. It was difficult to come to terms with the defeat we had with Manly in the semi-final, it wasn’t fun and I still feel a bit empty about it. This competition gives a second chance, not just to those involved with the Marlins, but to all the players involved in the Shute Shield this season, to put something together and show that we are contenders.”

Manly and Warringah have arguably the tensest rivalry in club land. With the Rays containing a large percentage of players from both clubs, how are you all getting on?

“It’s fine. They may be rivals and everybody gets up for the derby and hates each other during that game but at the end of the day, once you take that jersey off, we’re all mates and whatever happens on the footy field stays on the footy field. Living on the Northern beaches, everybody is very close so everybody knows everybody and if you don’t like someone you sort it out pretty quickly.”

How competitive do you think the Rays can be?

“We haven’t had as much time preparation as some of the other teams have but that’s the way it’s fallen and I still expect us to be very competitive. After the training sessions we’ve had, we’ve looked really good considering the amount of time we’ve had so, I think we just have to play the style of game we want to and we’ll be up there with some of the top dogs.”

If you don’t win the comp, what do you want to be able to look back and say in 11 weeks time?

“That we were competitive at every opportunity. I don’t want to back away from a game with our tail between our legs, I want us to come out and be dominant in every game and be able to say that, even if we lost, that we absolutely bashed them and they will be sore for weeks. That’s what we want to try and get the boys doing for the next eleven weeks. That’s the type of game people want to see, fast, physical footy. If we can give them that then hopefully we please the crowd and give them wins off the back of it.”

Check out www.raysrugby.com.au for more info…