WORD FROM THE COACHES
Training numbers have been quite strong. A few new (and former) players are still coming to the club with registration numbers are around 70 players.
While Carl, with help from Joel, has largely run the training sessions, John Taufaao as forwards coach has been a great support by conducting scrum and line-out sessions.
Training is predominately skills based with fitness being integrated into the skills drills. This has been appreciated by the players and provides a lot of ‘ball in the hand’ training.
Culture has been a big focus this year, especially with training. Carl has spoken at length at training that if players don’t want to be at training, that’s fine. But Carl has asked that if you turn up to training be there because you want to be there.
On the playing field, both coaches continue to be frustrated with inconsistent performances – one week winning against a team above us on the ladder then next week losing to a team below us. Dane Sherratt’s absence due to representative duty and injury is a huge loss. Dane played for us on Saturday against Hamilton but is away this coming weekend on Country Cockatoo duties.
This has caused Joel to fill in for P1s which has made it hard for Joel to provide leadership to P2s. Therefore, thanks to those guys that have filled in to help out P2s in recent weeks.

NHRU AND FRESH RESERVES IN P1’s
Just to set the record straight, many supporters have noticed the use of fresh reserves in P1s. When Club President, Greg Taylor, was approached about the situation he explained that “generally, we don’t want to have fresh reserves for P1s as we want the strongest team possible for P2s”.
“However, we are also very keen that every player gets game time. Because of the PPS and the limit on reserves in P2s we can only achieve this (get game time) by using fresh reserves in P1s.”
Greg went on to say “despite persistent rumours there, is no NHRU edict that The Waratahs cannot use fresh reserves in P1s. In fact, I had personally alerted NHRU that we needed to do this prior to doing so.”

LADIES DAY
The annual Ladies Day event was a huge success with really good attendance numbers and the weather holding off for a good day. A big thanks to Robbie Holmes as being the main supporter for the event as well as appreciation to the Old Boys for being so accommodating with their setup and on-going sponsorship to the day.

TRIVIA NIGHT
A Trivia Night is planned for Saturday, 5 August so keep the date free and brush up on your trivia knowledge. More information will be provided closer to the event.

OLD BOYS – AFTER TRAINING BBQ
The Old Boys hosted an ‘after training’ BBQ on Thursday, 25 May. The players really appreciate the effort put in by the Old Boys and look forward to a ‘sausage sanger’ and chat after training.
The next ‘after training BBQ’ is scheduled for Thursday 29th June. Supporters are welcome to come along to training to see Carl put the guys through their drills and to stay and have a chat afterwards.

VOLUNTEERS
The club is always looking to not only rebuild its player numbers but also its volunteer base. If you can contribute some time or resources please let one of the Committee members know.
Examples of ways you can help is by doing a shift in the canteen, ground set-up etc, statistician, team manager, or run the line in P2s. If we all take on an extra bit of work it lessens the load for everyone. Please see Club President Greg Taylor, Secretary Ian Johnson or Treasurer Denis Hurst if you can help in any way.

SPONSORS DAY
Sponsors Day is scheduled for Saturday,15 July (v Lake Macquarie) at Waratah Oval.
Come along to the game and introduce yourself to our sponsors and make them feel welcome. Please remember to support our sponsors where possible by purchasing their goods or making use of their services, by liking them on Facebook, referring them to your friends and, when you do buy or use any service, let them know it’s because of their sponsorship of the club.

AGL – POWER TO PLAY RUGBY ENERGY PLAN
One company that is supporting rugby in Australia is AGL. AGL has a deal that if you switch your energy provider to AGL, the company will contribute $150 to the Rugby Club you nominate. This is a tangible way for the club to earn some money. Further information is available from the following website. https://campaign.agl.com.au/landing/sponsorship/power-to-play/
Make sure you nominate The Waratahs Newcastle not those NSW Waratahs.

GET ONTO SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR NEW WEBSITE
Whether you like digital age or not most of the world communicates electronically. The Rugby Club is no different with nearly all communication to, from and between players is done on social media. The club has a Facebook and Instagram site, the Facebook site having important news about events within the club, achievements of the club and its players as well as training and game day information. The club’s website address is http://thewaratahsrugbyclub.teamapp.com/
The website has all the club’s news articles and lots of information.
Have a look at the new website and join up as a member to receive notifications and to access the ‘members’ component of the website.

NEXT HOME GAME
The next Home Game is this coming Saturday, 1st July against University. University are in a similar situation to The Waratahs and need to string some consistent performances together to make the semis. We hope you can make it on Saturday for what should be a great game of rugby.
Greg Taylor will be interviewing some of new players to the Club at 1.40pm and you’re encouraged to come along early to welcome these guys and listen to what they have to say.

JUNIORS
The Juniors Under 7s team is undefeated!!!!!
Coach Dane Sherratt has the backline humming with only last week a ‘first’ being achieved – two consecutive passes being successfully executed!!
David Curk has the forward working hard although they still don’t understand David’s explanation about the use of the feet in ruck!!
Seriously, the Juniors Committee has done a great job to get a team up and running with the Under 7s compete in the Lake Macquarie Saturday morning competition. This involves 30 minutes of skills work and a 30 minute game with all teams being winners.
Chris wishes to thank all those who assisted with getting the Juniors re-established with a special thanks to Keith Powell for his efforts and guidance. Chris also acknowledged Dane Sherratt and Mark Grinham for their work at the Try Rugby sessions and also for stepping up as Under 7s coaches.