South Coast News

It is with much sadness that we advise John Anderson passed away this morning, after a long battle with illness.

John held numerous positions within Group 7 Juniors and Seniors over an extended period, including long term roles as Junior President and Registrar.

John was awarded Life Membership in 2012 but continued his involvement with countless volunteer hours, up until the end of 2019 when he was diagnosed.

He was made a life member seniors in 2019 after serving as a senior board member for many years and working tirelessly for the association.

John didn’t always say what people wanted to hear yet he always did what he thought was best for our competitions.

Many would have fond memories of their dealings with John and we would like to pass on my condolences to all who knew him.

Funeral details will be advised once these are known.

Illawarra South Coast Dragons have made up for the pain of last year’s Grand Final defeat after beating Northern Rivers Titans 26-16 to claim the title in the Men’s Country Championships today at St Marys Leagues Stadium.

The Dragons were always in control of the match after establishing a 16-0 lead at half-time and they took advantage of Titans captain Joe Besgrove being sent to the sin bin in the second half to score two quick tries and extend the lead to 26-4.

It was a sweet result for the Dragons, after they just missed out claiming the premiership to the Monaro Colts last year.

“The win feels great; we were in the Grand Final here last year and lost to Monaro,” Dragons captain Nathan Ford said.

“We beat them in the Semi-final and to get the win here today feels amazing. There’s a few boys here at the back end of their careers so it’s good to get a win for them.”

The 2021 Group Seven Rugby League season has officially been abandoned following a meeting with NSWRL on Monday.

The meeting was attended by Group Seven operations manager Ashton Sims and outlined by NSWRL that COVID-19 uncertainty made it near impossible to push through and complete each league’s respective 2021 season for competitions in the Greater Sydney region.

Factors discussed included a lack of return to play guidelines, insufficient time to complete a worthwhile premiership and to not encroach on the summer sports.

Despite delaying their decision for as long as possible, NSWRL chief executive David Trodden admits they had no choice but to cancel the 2021 campaign.

Please see below our plans to continue our competition if covid allows.

The Group 7 Junior League Under 13 Development and Under 14 and 15 Representative program is ramping up in coming weeks with trials to be held at Lyrebird Park Nowra on Sunday 27 June for 13’s and Sunday 18 July for 14’s and 15’s.

Following on from the recent player nominations received from Clubs, the Coaches have been out and about to view players in action and invites will soon be sent to Clubs confirming who is to trial for the respective teams.

This week is a special occasion for one of our local juniors, Daniel Martin as he plays his 100th first grade game.

Marto has played all his junior footy with the Knights and has emerged as not only a quality player but a leader and someone that our juniors can look up to. He is a passionate, loyal and committed player who leaves it all on the field every week.

Marto will be out there doing what he does best on Sunday against the Lions.