The club has been planning this event for quite some time and apart from being something a little different, Ballina Rugby club will also be the host sponsor for the night. We have been given the naming rights for each race. 

The cost for the night is $20 per person which includes bus and entry. The night doubles as a fundraiser for the club with all the proceeds raised through ticket sales and race sponsorship going back to the club.

 So come along on TUESDAY, 27^th JULY and get involved – BALE up your friends, the more the merrier! Buses will be leaving the club at 5.30pm (First race 6.30pm) and departing Lismore at approximately 10pm (Last race 9.40pm).

 We need to confirm numbers in the next week or two so please RSVP at your earliest opportunity and no later that Thursday 22^nd July.

 We hope you can make it!

The club travelled down to Grafton in all grades on the weekend, with a bus provided and a Hawaiian theme for the trip home. Special mention should go to Robbo who forgot to bring a Hawaiian shirt for the night and was suitably rewarded for his effort.

The games against Grafton were played in good spirit and without Ballina giving an inch.

First grade started in a lethargic manner, which is common after the bus trip down, most pleasingly is that they played the entire 80 minutes, and although behind after 30 minutes maintained sustained pressure and finally ran up four tries in a 26 – 8 victory. Whilst this was the second bonus point from two weeks, the team still has a long way to go to play as a cohesive unit and will be looking forward to Jerry’s loving touch during the week.

The game was very stop start, with scrums being on the menu as top billing, Syd was heard to retract a statement earlier in the week that he loved scruming and Chucky decided to give away a few penalties just to have a break.

Second Grade controlled the game from the opening whistle, with two coaches who should have known better pulling on the boots, the game was a tough fought encounter. Special mention needs to go to Brent Horan, who not only coaches the team but also had several blistering runs from the back of the maul an done chip and chase that will go down in memory.

The boys enjoyed a night of movies and popcorn on the Friday night, with early nights in anticipation of the big games ahead. Saturday night was a more celebrated affair, after the win against Robb, the squad enjoyed a few sherbets in the bar before retiring to bed before midnight.

The team had a strong win against Robb College, with perfect decision making on the field being the factor between victory and defeat.

The other two games of the weekend were played in great spirit, and while we were lacking the numbers of the other squads, including field 6 props on the field due to injury during the last game, the positives outweighed the negatives and all coaches were happy with the performances. Unfortunately we couldn’t repeat our performances against Armidale and Tamworth, but several individual performances were well above expectation.

Player of the tour was Andrew Burke, who led the team in all aspects of his game, even wearing a salt overdose from the popcorn on Friday night, special mention needs to go to our coaches, Hooran and Dok who both played significant game time.  Youth played up a storm at 5/8 and Eli was dominant at no.8.

The guys would like to extend a thanks to the Royal Hotel in Armidale, they provided with excellent facilities and anyone visiting the town can’t go wrong in the Royal. Thanks also to Armidale Rugby Club for hosting the event, whlilst we didn’t leave with the cash the squad had a great time.

The game was played in excellent spirits with Moree winning the game by 2 points. The tries were 3 each.

The coaching staff were impressed with the entire playing group and the heavy preseason is showing great results. The playing group, whilst suffering from Jerry and Mick are happy with their input and looking forward to more core exercises.

In a shock to the entire club Dangar scored the first try, and has been reminding everyone since, it will be a long season. Pumpa scored one as well, and is being as obnoxious as Dangar about it.

Ballina are looking forward to the trip out west next year and all the players would like to identify Sparrow, Koelner and Longy as the guilty parties. Leave passes will need to be granted for the Thursday to Sunday for next year’s trip.

This week the Nose will not be explaining what he had to do in order to gain a leave pass for the season, and will not be dispelling any of the rumours that price was incredible…

Preseason is upon us and the Nose would like to cover injury prevention and not over doing in the run up to the start of the season. Stretching becoming important and wherever possible make sure that you stretch for at least 15 minutes before the commencement of a training session or fitness session. Also take an opportunity to stretch in your own time, whether it just be giving the hamstring a workout in the morning or a dedicated twenty minutes at night.

With all training suggested by the Nose the most important thing is that you should no over do it.

Your questions answered

Firstly the 300 questions about the price to play this year have been ignored, but the Nose will be happy to explain the price over a few beers, incidently if you would like to have a beer with the Nose you will need to get permission beforehand, the requirements for this include an agenda for the expected time for the beer, expectation of how many beers will be consumed, providing a cab charge for the Nose to get home, emergency contact numbers, and a second mortgage over your house in case the Nose is late getting home. This will need to be lodged at least a month before the beer is to be consumed.

Can you explain why all the club props are getting fit this year? There has been a rumour that the props have started their own version of the biggest loser and will be having Monday night weigh ins.

Can you explain how you are leading the tipping comp? Mrs Nose makes all the decisions in my house.

What has happened to Boony, I thought he was over 80kg? I think the more important question is why is Boony cutting his own hair.

Under 19s players will enjoy significantly reduced fees for the 2010 season with a cap on fees of $50, and these fees being refunded in full at the end of the year for any players who play at least 8 games.

With over 40 players already attending the training sessions at Flatrock the squad is looking good for the year ahead. The club is looking forward to strong showings in all grades, with competition for all spots.

After playing 37 degree heat at Lismore before the NSW v QLD match the Nose would like to discuss the importance of hydration with his loyal readers, especially this time of year, keeping up fluid levels is most important, not only for staving off dehydration but also to minimise the risk of injury. Keeping up the fluid should be a primary consideration of any training plan and keeping a bottle of water with you everywhere is the best suggestion.

If anyone is looking for a new adventure the Nose advocates watching the Biggest Loser and having a shot everytime one of them cries, the record so far is someone making it to the first break before failing to alcohol poisoning. More importantly it should be remembered that the training that the fatties are being through is totally unrealistic, if you are serious about dropping off some Christmas kilos come in and have a chat and get a realistic program.

The Nose will be more dilgent with his articles over the year and looks forward to a great season ahead.

The tipping comp is starting next Friday with the first round of the super 14. We are playing using the betting rules (where points are awarded based on the sportsbet rates) for example if Waratahs ($1.50) are playing Chiefs ($2.50) if you pick the Waratahs you will get 1.5 points, and the Chiefs will award 2.5 points for the win.

Prizes are being organised at the moment, it is open to all club members (juniors, seniors and golden oldies), supporters and their friends, there is no cost to enter.

The details are below, please registered before next Friday to get in on it.

You are invited to join my Super 14 2010 Tipping Competition at http://www.OzTips.com
Comp Name:     Ballina Rugby Union Tipping Competition
Comp #:        194567
Comp Password: seahorses
To join:

1) Go to http://www.OzTips.com

2) Click the ‘REGISTER’ button on the homepage and set-up a Login (if you don’t already have one with OzTips).

3) Once you have successfully registered a Username and Password, click the ‘JOIN A COMP’ button.

4) Enter the Comp # and Comp Password details above.

5) That’s it! Full instructions on how to Tip can be found on the website by clicking on the ‘Help’ link in the top header.

The training is being held at Flat Rock Beach.

Hooran has promised that anyone who doesn’t attend will be visited by him in mankini.