Rugby on right path

By Ben Hope
THE Endeavour Hills Rugby Club is on the right path to the Premier League as they enter the 2010 Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) competition with a new coach and a third second division team.
Club president Anthony Nelson said playing Premier League rugby would offer a vital development pathway for young players.
In order to advance to the premier league the club must meet several VRU guidelines that include junior development teams, a colts team and at least three senior teams.
“We are situated in a strategic area for rugby and we want a pathway for our kids to go from under eights, through the seniors to premiers and on to the Melbourne Rebels,” Nelson said.
“Our players have done it in the past; the pathway is there but is needs to be supported.”
Senior numbers have been boosted by the addition of St Francis Xavier who will play under the Hills banner as a third premiership team.
The club has also addressed player turn-out issues that forced the B-team to forfeit several games last season.
Second division teams will no longer face each other in the competition.
“The teams will still train together but won’t play each other in the competition,” Nelson said.
“Our goal is to get the players fighting for their positions in the firsts; we need that competition to help them improve.”
The Hills are also boosted by senior coach Archie Kennedy, a level three coaching veteran who will bring 20 years of experience to the club. In support Paul Maihi will fill the role of co-coach with Carl Jones as manager.
Kennedy said the team have been training hard since January to get their fitness up before the first game of the season next weekend.
This weekend the Hills will take on Footscray for their final practise match before the season start.
“We aren’t in too bad a shape and our first practice match against Box Hill went pretty well so I am quietly confident,” Kennedy said.
The Hills played three 30-minute thirds against Box Hill last month and after lagging halfway through the first third, managed to come back well and last the distance.
“That’s what we are looking for; we need to last the full 80 minutes. That has been our problem in the past; we drop off our defence in the last 10 minutes,” Kennedy said.
It was this drop in intensity that lost the Hills last year’s grand final after a second half collapse saw Geelong take the premiership in a 47-3 victory.
“We need to use our fitness to apply pressure early at the beginning and middle of the game and hold the defence towards the end,” Kennedy said. “It’s not the optimum game plan but it’s the way these guys work. They are always out hard at the start of the match and I am trying to lessen the curves.”
The Box Hill match was an encouraging result against a premier league grand final team but Kennedy predicts Wyndham City and Footscray will be the teams to beat this season. “Wyndham City played premier division last year and dropped down to second division so that experience will give them an edge,” Kennedy said.
“Both teams will be focused on getting back to the premiership grade.”
“We will be looking to finish in the top three – I am confident we can do it this year.
“We have a few new players to build our team as well as a couple of state players and some juniors coming up through the ranks.”