by Jim Davis –

WOODIES TO CONTEST AUSTRALIAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
2014 Sydney premiers, Eastwood will play Brisbane premiers, Queensland University for the Australian Club Championship on Saturday, February 14. The match will be played at T.G. Millner Field and is sure to attract a large crowd of Woodies supporters.

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Jed Gillespie

EASTWOOD PROP SIGNS WITH MELBOURNE REBELS
While on Eastwood, they appear to have lost another player to Super Rugby. The 22 year-old, try scoring prop, Jed Gillespie has signed an Extended Playing Squad (EPS) with the Melbourne Rebels. Gillespie, who represented the Australian Schoolboys in 2010, joins Eastwood colleague Steve Cummins at the Rebels.

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SALARY CAP FOR SHUTE SHIELD SIDES?
There has been a fair bit of chat about the proposal of a Sydney Rugby Union Board Member for the introduction of a Salary Cap or Ceiling for Sydney Shute Shield sides. Questions that have been raised include: Who would undertake the audits of the clubs? If it were to be those with the professional audit skills and independence, as many suggest should be the case, where is the money to come from to reimburse them?
Would the 12 Premier clubs willingly handover their accounts for scrutiny? How would details of Third Party payments be obtained? If you are targeting those that provide educational assistance through scholarships, how are details of scholarships provided by the main body, not the football club, to be viewed and scrutinised.
The list of questions raised with Rugby News is a large one. And would not it be mandatory that all clubs are audited not just a select few?
One thing we are told. It won’t happen in 2015. If it was to be introduced, the earliest would be season 2016.

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Waratah Sam Lousi

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SIGN BIG WARATAH

Waratahs’ new 2015 squad member, former new Zealand Warriors player Sam Lousi, who at 198cm and 126kg is second in size only to Will Skelton at Moore Park, has signed with the Southern Districts club. Word from Souths is they will be real force in the coming season through strong off-season recruitment.

Many will remember for quite some time the  exciting Shute Shield Semi-Final last year when Southern Districts just got up over Sydney University. Spectators witnessed a thrilling Semi-Final and a great advertisement for club rugby.

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Warringah flanker Sam Ward

WARRINGAH FORWARD’S STANDOUT YEAR

Warringah No.8 Sam Ward, impressed with his robust play for the Rats in 2014. His performances were noted by the Melbourne Rebels who he has been training with in the off-season. Recently he joined the Warringah side on their humanitarian tour of Sri Lanka and scored a try in the opening game against Kandy which the Rats won 36 to 19 before a crowd of 2000.