Message from the President
What a great day Saturday was for our club!!!
After a few years of tough results for our 1st grade side, it was rewarding to see all the hard work put in by everyone rewarded with our side bringing the John I Dent Cup home to Queanbeyan.
This premiership means so much to so many of us and the win is not only for the players who took the field on Saturday, it is for the players who went before them, the players in the other grades who support them, it is for the coaches both past and present, the support staff, past and present committee members, sponsors and all the supporters who have braved the cold to support our sides, even when the results were not there.
When they went down to a struggling Gungahlin side in Round 13, there was a chance they could miss the top 4, but the momentum the side built in the back end of the season saw them ride a wave of confidence that took them all the way to the title and send Sam French out a winner.
A big congratulations to our 4th grade side led by Jono Murphy who also took out the title on Saturday. When you boast a side of over 750 first grade caps, it will always be a tough ask for the opposition and our side showed their class and experience to run away with the game in the 2nd half. There are a few in that side that claim it is their last time in a Whites jersey, if this proves to be the case, a big thank you to the contribution each of you have made over a number of years and I look forward to seeing you contribute in other ways at the club into the future.
There are so many individuals that put in so much effort for our players to enjoy their rugby and give them the chance to enjoy the success that we had on Saturday. To all those coaches, support staff, supporters, committee members, volunteers and sponsors, a big thank you, we simply would not be where we are without your contribution.
To our players, many who had some tough results in 2022, thanks for choosing to play your rugby at the Whites and the efforts you have put in this season and I hope everyone of you that is able to, is there next season to continue the improvement of the Whites.
For me, winning the John I Dent Cup on Saturday is not the end game, it is the start of our club achieving more success into the future. We have a strategic plan to deliver, a junior club to support and grow, a women's program that we are determined to make the best in the competition and I will not be satisfied until we have all teams competing for trophies.
Thank you to Sam French for his 3 years as head coach. When he started, he made it clear that his first step would be to build the culture of the club and was confident that results would come from there, which they certainly did.
We hope to be in a position to make an announcement of our head coach for 2023 very shortly, who will then work with the committee to appoint a team of coaches for all grades that will give us the success we strive for.
Finally, thank you to both the Hellenic Club which hosted some of our players for lunch on Saturday and Walsh's Hotel, who put on dinner for the players in 1st and 4th grade last Thursday and then saw us all pack in there on Saturday night for a joyous evening following the wins on Saturday.
I hope you are all able to join us at our Presentation Evening next Friday, details of which can be found on our website and look forward to a big 2023 for the club.