Players may hike from the Hills

Endeavour Hills enforcer Malifa Taeleipu and his teammates will have to play against second-rate competition this year if club officials’ bid to be included in the Premier Division fails. 18414

By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills Rugby Union Club officials face a player exodus if their bid for a place in the Premier Division fails next month.
Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) officials announced a nine-team competition just before Christmas and Endeavour Hills was not on the list, despite being one of the strongest junior clubs in the state.
The criteria included clubs’ ability to field three senior sides each week and VRU president Gary Gray confirmed this was the major reason the Hills missed out.
“The decision the board took to not initially include them was one based on the fact the board was not convinced they had the numbers to meet all the criteria in terms of the number of teams required to play Premier Division,” he said.
“The guys (at Endeavour Hills) contend that they do.
“They’ve done more work and put that in front of the board and we’ll have to see what the board has to say in February.”
Endeavour Hills’ president Ashley White and fellow club officials met with Gray two weeks ago and are exploring all options to gain the 10th spot.
One of those options includes a partial merger with another club, similar to what Footscray and Wyndham have established to earn their places in the Premier Division.
Footscray will produce two of the mandatory three teams in the arrangement, while Wyndham makes up the other.
“There’s a high degree of enthusiasm from the playing community to be playing in Premier Division,” White said.
“And there will be a lot of community based pressure from various members to make sure the rest of their mates turn up.”
The Hills will play in an inferior second division league if VRU officials do not grant it entry into the Premier Division.
Much of the doubt from the VRU board members stems from Endeavour Hills’ tumultuous season in 2007.
Club officials had to forfeit a Premier One match that year due to a player shortage and were forced to field much older players to fill squads in some other games.
White is confident those days are behind the club, but is disappointed that VRU officials are more focused on senior representation.
“We’ve always been good at developing juniors,” he said.
“We’re the only Victorian club that has a current Australian representative, we’re the only Victorian club that has an Australian schoolboy representative and we have a number of players in the Super 14 competition that have come through our ranks.
“We believe kids are the future of any code.”
White is also concerned about losing key players if the club misses out on the Premier Division.
“We have a number of very good club players who, in a lot of cases, are either clear Victorian selections or on the cusp of Victorian selection,” he said.
“Those players will find it difficult, as much as they are loyal, to stay with the club from the level of game they would be playing.
“We can understand that and we really don’t want to hold them back in any way. (But) we want to provide them with the opportunity within the club to succeed.”