Pittwater Online News

July 1 - 31, 2025: Issue 644

Avalon Bulldogs J.R.L.F.C. 2025 A Grade Team

Instagram: www.instagram.com/avalonbulldogs

Home Ground: Hitchcock Park

The Avalon Bulldogs Junior Rugby League club is a family oriented community-based sporting club with over 60 years of heritage, commencing in the Manly Warringah District Junior Rugby League in 1962.

The club is a much-loved asset to the community with a large following of passionate supporters. The junior division and touch football competition attracts over 1200 players annually. Home games are played at Hitchcock Park on Saturdays from April to August, and touch footy games on a Friday night are THE place to be socially for around 700 families from toddlers to grandparents between October and December.

The organisation is committed to providing a fun and healthy environment for families to come together and get active. They follow the NRL values of Excellence, Inclusiveness, Courage, and Teamwork. From the youngest players at four years old to the team of 100 volunteers who give hours of their time to the club for the love of the game, the commitment is impressive. In the eyes of the youngsters, the club is the best thing since sliced bread. They wear their training shirts proudly everywhere they go!

This Winter Comp. Season the Doggies have 22 teams from Under 6's through to Opens (A Grade), including 8 girls teams playing in the rapidly growing Blues Tag comp.

Blues Tag is an inclusive-style of Rugby League open to players from all backgrounds and abilities, with a focus on improving the players' fundamental skills – catching, passing and in-game communication. It's a non-contact version of Rugby League - players wear shorts with attached tags and tackles are made by removing a tag, rather than physically tackling.

So far this year they've celebrated Brian Friend's 50 years of coaching littlies, and almost 60 years of being part of the Bulldogs cohort, cheered as Kurt Stevenson led A Grade out onto the field with his sons to play his 350th game, and welcomed the return of an A Grade team for the Mona Vale Raiders for the first time in 23 years because that means an expanded competition, it's great for the MWDJRL, and makes the local rugby league family an even bigger one. All are welcome because all belong!

Kurt Stevenson and his sons lead out the team on his 350th game.

With just a few more games to go this Season, and the Doggies fielding an Open team in the Sunday Gold comp. after a year off, an opportunity to catch up on the 2025 A Grade Team for Avalon is not to be missed.

Big thanks to the players for tolerating 2025's random photo sessions, Avalon Bulldogs President and Assistant Coach Matt Eding, Manager and Avalon Bulldogs Registrar Jazmin Ball, and 2025 Head Coach for the A-Graders Haig Sare for their time and help with this week's Profile.

Matt Eding – President and Assistant Coach for A Grade and Under 6’s

You have taken on the Presidency for the Avalon Bulldogs this Season – why did you want to do that?

I’ve had a couple of positions here for a long time, and was the senior Vice President. When Ian left I was asked to undertake the position. I’d actually come back this year to help out with the coaching for the A Grade boys, some of who I’d coached since they were 6 years old. We started together and said we wanted to finish together, so I couldn’t say no to that.

The results for A Grade so far have been encouraging?

We’re not counting our chickens or anything else yet – we still have 2 games to go.

The Avalon Bulldogs has expanded its teams this year with several female teams now part of your membership. What is it like to see that evolve through the club?

We’re loving it. We have 22 teams this year, 8 of which are girls teams. I’ve had a little bit of involvement with them when they started to learn some skills and try and help them out as much as we can with that.

This is a great thing for league and the club and the whole organisation. I think there have been more new players signing up across the area in girls in recent years than in boys, which some indication of the interest in playing the sport by girls.

Looking forward we’re aiming to provide facilities for the girls as this grows. We have only one change room at the moment in the clubhouse, so we’re looking at ways to provide that for them. We’re also looking at adding in a gym too – so the club is coming along and working towards what we’d like to do to support members and the growth of interest in the sport over the next few years.

So, you are a past player as well?

Yes, I’m 56 now, so I finished playing a while ago, although I did play with A Grade. I started coaching the Under 6’s with BF, Brian Friend. Jack Friend and myself actually took the Under 6’s off Friendly as we wanted to go through with our boys. I’ve coached on and off for a few years now, going through as we’ve had kids, but that’s how it started and gone on for 25 years now.

It's been a huge Season for the Bulldogs so far; you’ve had Friendly celebrating decades of coaching youngsters, Kurt Stevenson led out the A Grade team for his 350th game, the day and night games are attracting around one thousand people from the community and everyone from babies to grandparents at Hitchcock Park some days. Why is it important to you to keep growing the club as a community base?

Well, the Doggies ARE community – we all come from the community and you have people like PC and Friendly who have been helping out for decades, and people like Jazmin Ball who keep coming back over the years and lift an incredible load for the club. Atop that, we’ve got a lot of new people becoming involved in the club who have been really helpful in taking on different roles at the club and that has helped it grow, roles they have exceled at. We had a meeting the other night and there are 12 Committee positions that need to be filled by volunteers each Season and as it becomes bigger we always need others to take on other jobs – the canteen, the BBQ, the drinks counter, marking out lines and setting up – there’s always a lot going on behind the scenes to support the teams, coaches and managers so the players can play and enjoy their games.

L to r: Paul Collins (P.C.), John Davis (president 2018 - 2020) Brian Friend OAM (Friendly)

In terms of community support – there has been a great turn-out this year, it’s been great to see everyone coming together and I think that will only get stronger. With the juniors and the girls teams growing, bringing in more support from families, and if we can keep A Grade going, and in fact if all the teams and clubs that are playing across the Manly-Warringah District Junior Rugby League comp. can keep going and build, that will be great for our community. The MWDJR comp is the strongest there is – we’ve played the Westie comp. and the beaches boys still ended up in the Grand Final.

Will there be an A Grade Team for the Bulldogs next year?; the players are having children themselves now so some may retire to focus on their littlies...

They are but we’ve also been bringing through younger players as part of the team as well, mainly to bleed them into the way A Grade does things and the disciplines you need. We’ve had one of the young boys, a 17 year old, playing with them this year, so hopefully that continues to grow. We’ve had a few injuries, but it is that time of year. I’ve only heard of a handful of boys who are retiring after this Season, so they’re looking to keep going – they love playing.

This year has been a historic one as the Mona Vale Raiders have an A Grade Team as part of the comp for the first time in over 20 years. Avalon is playing Mona Vale for the Barrenjoey Cup on Saturday July 26, which represents a resurgence of that connection between the Barrenjoey peninsula clubs - is it good to have them back?

It sure is. This was a battle between some of the boys that played there, such as Jake and Tom Trbojevic when they were playing with Mona Vale. They were playing very well when Tom was with the Juniors and took the premiership away from us numerous times. So now it’s our ‘redemption’ year, and the Trbojevic boys are not playing, so hopefully we do well against their Seniors in this game.

Jazmin Ball – Bulldogs Registrar and Manager for A Grade

What’s involved in being the Manager for the 2025 A Grade Team?

I look after the players who have injuries. On Thursdays I have to submit the Team List for that weekend’s game which is then generated and printed out by Rugby League NSW. All the players are required to sign on for each game they’re in so that’s accounted for. On Game Days it’s making sure all the boys are in the correct jerseys to match that list. I have to score at the games they play. In the Gold Comp. You’re only allowed to have 10 interchanges unless there is a head-knock – when you can change that player out without having to use one of that 10 - so that's part of what you do as well.

You have been around the Avalon Bulldogs for years and would be among those who have watched the A Grade players come up through the ranks – and now they’re becoming dads themselves. Has it been nice to see this happen over the years?

It’s extremely special – you start to have conversations with them about whether their kids will be playing with the Bulldogs as for a few of them they’re 3 or 4 and getting near that age when they can play. To have a number of the A Grade players come through from Under 6’s through to now playing A Grade, then to have their children enjoying being part of this is very special. To see them all mature has been amazing, and a great privilege.

You have also undertaken the role of Registrar again this Season – an enormous task – how many are playing this year?

With the Winter tackle we had just over the 300 mark. In the next couple of weeks we’ll open our registration for Touch which will bring in another 900 to 1000 kids. We hope to expand that comp. next year as through the past couple of years it has become so popular there are kids missing out. If we can expand that comp. we’ll have a lot more people enjoying Friday afternoons like we do.

How long have you been a part of the Bulldogs family?

I have been involved on the committee for 4 years now, as Registrar and Secretary. Before that I was manager for my brother’s Tackle team, which was a long time ago, he’s 17 now. I was pulled in to Manage an Under 13’s Tackle team and since then I just keep on saying ‘yes’ to jobs that need to be done.

I feel like it’s a full circle; when I was 10, 11 and 12 I was sitting on the sideline watching A Grade on a Sunday afternoon. Even back then I wanted to be involved but obviously was too young and didn’t know how to help. Now to think I’m helping run the club, Managing the boys, puts some perspective on way back then.

How many hours would you do each year?

I couldn’t count them all – it can be so hit and miss. Some weeks there is a lot; at the beginning of the Season for instance, it’s countless hours. There are also a lot of hours I put in before the Season even starts. By the middle of the Season it’s quietened down a bit. Over the next few weeks we’ll head into the final rounds and it will start to pick up a bit again and hopefully some of our teams win through and we’ll prep for Grand Final days, and then Presentation Days, and that’s when all the hours will pile up again.

There are several girls teams under the Bulldogs wing this year – what is it like to see that evolve?

I introduced this to the club when I started 4 years ago. We only had 3 teams at that time. My passion was for getting the girls an opportunity to play the game at Avalon – I’d seen the other clubs, like Mona Vale, begin to build their Tag comp. This year we have 8 teams from Under 12’s through to Under 18’s and next Season we’ll be able to introduce an Under 10’s Tag, so it’s a game that will keep growing, more and more girls want to play each year. It took a bit of drive in trying to get it all done but it’s been so worth it and it’s great to see this get across the line and become a part of the club.

Finally – how has the A Grades' Season gone so far from your perspective?

Bringing back an A Grade team after a year off, and building back all the support has been great. The staff have done amazing work finding great sponsors who fully support what the club is about. Outside of that, the team that has worked looking after the boys, the people who are committed to getting these boys on the field back at Avalon are the best. Without them we wouldn’t have an A Grade team at Avalon, and the boys have done so well so far in the way they’ve approached every single game. We’re all just incredibly proud of them.

Bulldogs volunteers in 2022 l; to r: Kelcy Roberts, Virginia Leigh and Jazmin Ball

Haig Sare – Head Coach for A Grade

Haig, you have coached before locally?

Yes, I coached the Warringah Rats First Grade and also coached the NRC Rugby provincial competition.

How did you get into coaching?

I played professionally for 10 years in rugby, playing in France with Biarritz Olympique and for Western Force in the Super Rugby competition. After I retired one of the guys I played with, Sam Harris, a Manly Sea Eagle and Waratah, went to Japan to coach. An opportunity arose and my first coaching gig was Rats First Grade.

So you just love coaching then?

Yes, I love it. I was talking to one of the boys last night, our Captain, Kelso, (Will Kelly) about this. When I moved to Queensland 10 years ago I didn’t pick up a football – for 10 years. Didn’t visit a football field, didn’t do anything along those lines. So it’s so nice to get back around something I’m familiar with and be around like-minded people; the camaraderie, buying into something bigger than yourself, seeing the guys put in the effort and get results, it's super rewarding.

How did you get persuaded to take on the Avalon Bulldogs boys?

I was taking my son Jet, who plays with the Doggies now, to Tri-Tag rugby, which is Mark Gasnier’s initiative – he set that up at Newport Breakers. One of the local boys, Scotty Fitzgerald, mentioned to Gaz they were looking for someone and he said; ‘well Haig used to coach professionally, why don’t you ask him’. So Mark reached out and I said ‘I haven’t played rugby league since I was 17, not doing it’. But I caught up with Mark a couple of times and he made me feel more comfortable about doing it and said he’d be there in the background if I needed him. I decided I’d do it, it was a good way to get back into being a part of the community after being away for 10 years, to give something back, and I’m so glad I did.

Avalon Bulldogs President and Assistant coach for A Grade Matt Eding mentioned earlier they have a few of the younger players among the A Grade team this Season as they’re looking to build longevity for the Open Gold comp. for 2026 and beyond. Will you be back next year?

At this stage I don’t know – I’ve taken on a new job and I’m seeing how that works out time wise before I can commit to all it takes to look after a team throughout a Season.

There are a few boys who will be moving on after this year, and we have had 7 Season-ending injuries by this stage of the Winter Comp. A lot of guys don’t want to end their playing like that and might want to run around again. This amount of injuries is really testing our depth but it is also an opportunity for the young guys to step up and get some game time and experience.

Some A’s players have been playing across both league and union codes over the years and the team has been very strong in pushing forward and in defence this Season. Has that experience in both codes added to what the team brings to the field?

I daresay the rugby league diehards would say ‘absolutely not’ but I personally, being a rugby boy, believe so. I absolutely love rugby league – however with some of them having that rugby union experience and knowledge, I feel I’m talking their language when we do drills – there’s just that extra bit of familiarity and skill set that we can work in to what we’re doing. It’s funny how the media like to hype up league versus union but most guys play both and like both. The hype seems to try and predetermine you must be for one or the other, when most people prefer both. I’ve been able to have some chats with Max Girdler about aspects of the game and skills we can transition across to league so in my experience they can and do enhance each other.

[Max Girdler has played union with the Warringah Rats and league with the Avalon Bulldogs, Mona Vale Raiders and the Sea Eagles Harold Matthews side. Along with ‘Bruiser’, who has played with the Newport Breakers, he forms part of the core push for the Doggies]

Max Girdler during the July 6 home game for the Bulldogs

Bruiser! Bruiser! (Matt Andrews)

Are they good boys to work with?

They are such lovely guys – it’s been such a great experience. I see a little bit of myself in every single one of them.

They are also heroes to the younger members of the Bulldogs. Every game they play there’s a big crowd of 6 to 12 year olds who know what position they play and all their names, even their nicknames. How important is it for them to maintain being that example for the upcoming generations?

Very important. Mark Gasnier spoke about this early on of this Season. There’s been a fair bit of work going on in the background to get the A Grade up and running with Steph Puskar and Alex Woodley really driving it because they wanted their young boys to have someone to look up to and have a pathway. So we’ve spoken about that quite a bit, about how it’s now all about performance on the field but how you carry yourself off the field so you set a good example.

This hits close to home as my son is a massive Bruiser fan; he wears his Doggies jersey everywhere and every game he’s ‘Bruiser! Brusier! Bruiser!’ – but there are others you hear called out – ‘Baumy’, ‘Chook’, ‘Bowdo’, ‘Cliss’ – and they love them all. How they behave will impact how the younger generation behave and they’re mindful of it and I think they’re doing a pretty good job – I’m so proud of them.

fan club watching on as the victors sing the Doggies song

A Grade Team 2025

A-Grade staff:
Head Coach: Haig Sare
Assistant Coach: Matt Eding
Manager: Jazmin Ball
Trainers: Nick Williamson, Matt Eding, Tom Baum.

Players:
Jack Schofield
Jake Crutch
Jackson Lloyd
Josh Kamara
Cameron Matthews
Jedd Wheeler
Kurt Stevenson
Cody Davis
Oscar Barry
Chad Walton
Matt Andrews
Max Girdler
Liam Thompson
Bailey Graham
Ryan Clissold
Will Kelly
Chad McMillian
Jackson Yeates
Darcy George
Tom Baum
Corey Kirkham
Michael Bowden
Jayme Feehely
Max Barry
Taine Allen
Kenny Willich