John Amato and Endeavour Hills Rugby Union Club look increasing likely to be relegated to Premier Two level next season due to a lack of playing numbers.By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills’ 53-7 pummelling at the hands of Harlequin at Holmesglen Reserve on Saturday may be a sign of things to come, with a severe player shortage set to see the club be relegated from the Rugby Union Victoria Premier One competition.
The crisis began this month when Endeavour Hills was forced to forfeit its round eight match-up against Melbourne because too few players had paid their insurance and competition fees.
Several members then quickly covered the costs and the team suited up the following Saturday, but further trouble ensued.
All players did not pay up and these individuals have since left the club.
This issue was magnified last week, with two major injuries and the loss of another two players to work commitments compounding the pain for Endeavour Hills.
The team rolled out several competitors over the age of 40, including 46-year-old head coach Mark Thompson, who had not played at such an elite level for eight years, just to field a team against Harlequin.
The desperation was at such a level that Pillar Cup representatives Presley Naea and David Muliaga spurned Eastern Suburbs to help their home side out.
Thompson explained that his decision to put on the boots was due to his passion for Endeavour Hills.
“For me, it’s ‘Endeavour forever’. I will do whatever I have to while I’m here and we have to keep going,” he said.
But even Thompson was forced to concede that relegation to Premier Two next season was almost a certainty for his struggling outfit, which occupies second-last position.
“I think so – would you have a team like us in your competition?” he said.
“I think we had a super team. Actually, that’s an overstatement – a super team would have paid their fees.
“On-field we were okay, but off the field this is where we got to.”
Thompson also could not rule out another forfeit before the year was out.
Endeavour Hills president Ashley White was hesitant to look further ahead than this Saturday’s game and claimed that relegation was not a fait accompli for his club.
“It’s just one of those things that happens midseason sometimes – guys going off to play at higher levels, blokes losing enthusiasm sometimes and others that just get injured,” he said.
“Nothing has happened yet. At this stage, we were just short a few players for one game, so I wouldn’t be rushing to too many conclusions.”
The other element to Endeavour Hills’ dire situation was the introduction of the inaugural Pillar Cup competition a month ago, which has robbed it of numbers each week.
Until the rule was wisely altered last week, players who participated at Pillar Cup level three times were ineligible to continue playing at Premier One or any other lower standard.
They can now play for their home clubs on the same weekend, as long as they do not play more than half of a game for their Pillar Cup affiliate.
Eastern Suburbs coach Stephen Tia is sympathetic to Endeavour Hills’ plight, but is experiencing frustrations of his own.
“(Naea and Muliaga) showed a bit of loyalty to their club, which is nice, but when you pick guys to start you expect them to play for you,” he said.
Tia believes Rugby Union Victoria needs to look at rescheduling the Pillar Cup season.
“They should have the club competition first so everybody gets their club players and then have the Pillar competition next, so we can take the best players,” he said.
“All of the Pillar coaches are suffering from the same thing – we are selecting players to play, but they are loyal to their (home) clubs.”
Endeavour Hills takes on ladder leader Power House at Frog Hollow Reserve at 3.15pm on Saturday.
