A Word From The Chairman

Chairmans Report 2008-2009

This Years View From The Chair

The new season is upon us once again. Time to find out if all the hard work through the summer is going to pay off. Time to ask ourselves "Just how far do we think we can go this year?" I can hear some wag saying "We have already been to Mongolia, beat that" Yes, the Gospel of Warley RFC has reached Mongolia, thanks to an intrepid journey taken by Nick, Sam and the Rascal Van. But is it now time to spread that Gospel through the leagues?

There is no doubt that the club has been punching beneath its weight for some years. That has been a necessary journey as we recovered from a perilous position of nearly going out of existence, to the enviable facilities and strength in depth of today. It is time now to build on the hard work put in, by both the coaches and players on the field and your committee off the field. Coaches, Bob and Dave have shown their usual commitment during the summer and from what I have seen, the players in turn have responded. There is certainly a renewed optimism about the place and a very real optimism. That seemed to spark from a very good come back last season, against a Five Ways outfit from the league above us, when a number of our emerging young players seemed to come of age.

This season we possess real pace and youth in our back line. The average age of the pack has been dropping with the 1st XV player of the year, a youthful second rower in Owen Creswell. There is some pace in there as well, provided Edwin does not pile on the pounds following his marriage. (Congratulations to Edwin and Jennifer).

This year Nick Skett steps down as club skipper, a big thanks from all of us for all his hard work, both as skipper and coach during some very rocky years. In his place we welcome Richard Harrison, again an experienced and mobile second rower. For the first time in a while now it can be said we had a winning season with a comfortable finish for the firsts and a successful 3rd spot for the 2nd XV in their merit league. The gap between 1st and 2nd XV is closing, with healthy competition the result. We thank Derek Finnegan for his time in office as 2nd team skipper and welcome his successor Carl McGrath. Carl somewhat bucks the trend in youthful replacements but he makes up for it in boundless energy, which sees him make time to coach in our youth section.

Turning to which, our youth continue steadily, with new coaches Colin and Eddy easing the strain on our stalwarts, Steve M, Steve P, Mark J and Maz. We are now recognised as a feeder club in many of our schools, thanks to Karl Blick and his team, all vital work for our future prosperity.

In case no one noticed, this year sees the embryonic stage of our female section. A small but committed band emerged and trained every Monday night during last season but with no fixtures. We hope to put that right this season, but in the meantime some of our ladies have put in encouraging performances playing in partnership with Dudley Kingswinford.

There has been sadness too, with the tragic loss of Oliver Secret last year. He had an infectious personality and he will be missed.

As we look back over the last year, we can see a lot of change within the club. The ability to cope with this change, demonstrates the strength in depth that we possess. So in asking the question "Just how far do we think we can go this year?" it is also right to look back and see just how far we have come. We have had to push hard, to listen to differences of opinion, to regroup and put our shoulders to the wheel to get this far, but we have come this far, keep up the good work. I believe this club is ready to go very far indeed, so good luck to us all in the coming season.

Dick

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2007/08

The Chairmans Report for the 2007/08 season can be downloaded by Clicking Here.

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