Burrell's Blog - Rugby League Conference South 2007
I'm not quite sure how this has happened but a couple of days from now I could be playing in the Rugby League Conference.
Lets wind the clock back two years......
The traffic situation getting to my Wednesday night 5-a-side football had become a real pain. Sometimes I would arrive far too early and other weeks I would even abandon the journey knowing I would be seriously late.
As a keen London Broncos fan I frequented the message board and had seen information on a new supporters tag rugby team. There were called London Griffins and played at the Old Deer Park. I started to give it some thought as this was a much more convenient location for some Wednesday night exercise.
Despite my interest in the Broncos I'd never really played rugby. I had played union in my first year at secondary school but the only thing I really remember about that was being told to lie down and stick my face in the mud. I guess it was supposed to get you used to the feeling! I'd also played one game in the sixth form when my house team was really short. They stuck me on the wing and seemed to have a genuine concern when I actually tried to tackle someone!
Tag sounded like non contact and at my age that seemed appropriate so I decided I'd give it a go. The Griffins turned out to be a friendly bunch looking to play social games against other team of supporters. A good proportion of the other players were new to the game so I didn't feel out of place. We threw a ball around and tried to catch it, some with more success than others. Coaching was low key and fitness training was non existent. We just played a game and tried to learn off those who did know what they were doing. We started to play some matches, the tackles started to get a bit harder (I learned Tag was really semi contact) but enjoyed the competition.
My expectations for 2006 were more of the same but before long the Griffins were holding the Sheffield IMBRL 7's trophy and had played at the New River Stadium as a curtain raiser to a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_League_National_Leagues Skolars NL2 match. Things were getting more serious and a number of the team were keen to go 'full contact'. The momentum built and we even had a proper coaching session so we could learn how to tackle! Encouraged by the experience of a first full contact match against Wigan Web Warriors the Griffins applied to join the London Amateur Rugby League for the 2007 season. I was supportive of the move as the majority were in favour and we seemed to have increasing difficulty in finding Tag fixtures. However, as the season closed I fully expected one of the younger players to be taking my place once the league started!
2007 saw pre-season training. We had proper coaching with a focus on skills and fitness. Many of us hit tackle bags for the first time and we learnt some basic moves. A far cry from the sessions of throwing the ball about we"d been used to. Most seemed to enjoy it though and we built with purpose for the London League. The league finally arrived and with it a victory in the first game. Soon afterwards, we had something that need to be seriously discussed by the committee and core players. The Griffins had been approached by the RFL to take over Broadstairs fixtures after they withdrew from the Rugby League Conference South division. While all had concerns the decision to go for it was unanimous.
So come Saturday, with the rugby league brain of a novice and body of a veteran I could be playing in the Rugby League Conference. If I do play, I'll probably still be stuck out on the wing but at least hopefully by now without the looks of concern when I try to tackle someone!
Jon
Burrell's Blog - Pre-season 2007
Since my last blog training has started and we have also played our first pre-season game. More on that later......
I suppose I must admit to being a bit anxious before pre-season training started. A few hints had been dropped that things were going to get pretty tough!
Bearing in mind that last season we had got used to just turning up and chucking a ball about I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by the format when we kicked off again in January.
Coaches Adam Hill and Chris Heading have introduced a lot of structure to sessions so we are working on fitness, techniques and skills. It's hard work but enjoyable too. We're learning a lot and team spirit is really building as result. We still get to play a bit of a game too.
Obviously, for London's best dressed RL team, training has also seen a gradual accumulation of new kit! Home strip, away / training strip plus a "distinctive" red training top as well. That's two drawers full of Griffins gear now!. Anyone moaning about the lack of Quins RL merchandise could always start supporting the Griffins!
I think we were all pretty excited about our first match of the season against Southgate Eagles. We had a few players missing but were still able to pull together a decent squad.
It's always nice to get a bit of a crowd and as the game was played as curtain raiser to the Skolars v Quins Capital Challenge there was a fair few watching. Thanks to all those who made the effort. Hope they enjoyed the game!
In somewhat disastrous start we suffered injuries to two key players. Mark Price left the pitch with what turned out to be a dislocated elbow. Get better soon Mark! Chris Heading got a serious bang on the eye but played on without realising he had fractured his eye socket (ouch!). I think it's fair to say we were pretty shell shocked and found ourselves 18-0 down after what must have been less than 10 minutes. For one of the tries, Chris reckoned he had 8 players running straight at him. Now I'll admit our defence was bad but I think at least half of those players were down to the problems with his vision!
That was a real low point but we were determined to stop the rot. Although maybe the steadier period of the play that ensued was more down to Lee Brown's suggestion that things could get, shall we say, a bit nasty if things didn't look up!
For sure, there were some good leaders out there on the pitch. Adam Hill put in an inspiring performance. His Dad, Alan, showed us the benefit of experience too! We actually started to boss things in the second half and looked dangerous whenever we moved the ball about. Remarkably, with a couple of minutes to go we were just 4 points behind. In a way, a fairy tale ending would not have been deserved and Southgate were worthy winners by 32 to 24 thanks to a try under the posts right on the whistle.
While it wasn't good to lose I think we can take a lot from the game. After all, it was only our 2nd full contact match. Our organisation and enthusiasm in defence was lacking but these are things we are already working on correcting. We have Southgate in our sights for a rematch....
Jon
Burrell's Blog - Jan 2007
It really doesn't seem that long since the Griffins rounded off a fantastic 2005 season by taking the Hull National IMBRL title.
I was previously under the impression that Hull was a place to avoid but the Griffins are certainly getting a liking for the place. Maybe it is still hard to find good accommodation there though. Gio apparently bust the defensive line in his sprint to claim the best bed in the guest house while allegedly leaving a certain club captain with something tantamount to a dog basket to kip in.
2007 preparations are certainly in full swing. Both coaches are looking forward to putting the squad through their paces in January. Maybe they are looking forward to that a little bit too much! Early training sessions are likely to be at Sheen. I'm told this is due to the presence of floodlights and not because of the risk of another unpleasant incident of septuagenarian streaking at Old Deer Park. I also hear that one or two players have been doing a bit of sneaky running during the close season so we'll see whether that helps ease them through the pain barrier.
The committee have been meeting regularly. We have ambitious plans to convert Richmond to a rugby league stronghold, maybe we should just tell people its union and hope they don't notice the difference. I'm certainly looking forward to learning a bit more about the game next year as we hone our skills and stamina for London League. First outing is likely to be as warm up match for the annual Skolars vs Quins friendly so this is certainly an opportunity to showcase just how far the club has come in 2 years.
Sponsorship has been flooding in and the first team shirt is starting to resemble a Jensen Button's F1 overalls. Seriously though, both the new home shirt and training shirt are looking great and we need to give a big thanks to all our new sponsors from Urban Academy, London League Publications, Send in the Clowns forum, Forty-Twenty.co.uk, Code13Consulting.co.uk and SAR Consultants. We're all looking forward to showing them some success in 2007. Most of the players have done their bit too by raising personal player sponsorship. If you haven't then get your finger out, there's really no excuse!
So roll on pre-season, I'm looking forward to meeting up with all the regulars again and also meeting the new players that the Griffins always have a welcome for!
Jon
