John Amato and Endeavour Hills Rugby Union Club will tackle the Premier One competition this season after being promoted from A Grade. Picture: Meagan Rogers.By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills Rugby Union Club will become the latest Casey side to join elite ranks when it takes to the field at 3.15pm against Boroondara in the Premier One competition at Frog Hollow Reserve on Saturday.
Endeavour Hills finished third in A Grade last season behind fellow promoted clubs Boroondara and Footscray.
Premier One is one spot below Victorian Rugby Union’s top flight, which will be known as the Pillar Cup and has been established to improve the standard of the sport in the state.
Endeavour Hills players will feature in the Pillar Cup as part of a combined side with Box Hill, Eltham and Bendigo, which will be known as the Eastern Suburbs.
Two players tipped to feature strongly in the squad are Lewis Leamoana and David Muliaga.
For now, Leamoana and Muliaga will suit up for Endeavour Hills’ Premier One side in anticipation of Eastern Suburbs’ first match on 30 June.
Endeavour Hills coach Mark Thompson, who has been involved with the club for six years, the past two as senior coach, is full of praise for the new concept and believes it will give the youth in Victoria something to aim for.
“I think it’s good for the younger players coming through,” he said.
“There is the Australian competition, which includes the Melbourne Rebels, and after that there is Super 14.
“It means they are only two steps away from an Australian jersey, which is really good for Melbourne.”
As for his Premier One team, Thompson has high hopes for a successful transition.
“Our objective is to get ourselves into the top eight by the middle of the season,” he said. “It is our first season in Premier grade and it is a step up, so we don’t know what to expect.”
Thompson will be assisted by Dave Kahukiwa, and Endeavour Hills faces a baptism of fire in the first two rounds as it plays A Grade premier and runner-up Boroondara and Footscray respectively.
“We have some really hard teams to come up against and I am picking that after three or four rounds we will know where we are,” Thompson said.
