Cooma Rugby Union Football Club 50th Anniversary

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50

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ANNIVERSARY The game they play in heaven...

Success from very social beginnings Records indicate that in June 1887 Cooma played a game of Rugby football against Bega at Bega. The team members were: E. Halliday, T. Goodwin, G. Miller, J. Sullivan, B&H. Edwards, W. Russell and L. Solomon. In 1893, GTC Miller owner of the Cooma Express and a Member of Parliament was secretary of the Cooma Football Club. In 1903 he donated a cup, which still holds pride of place with the Cooma Rugby Club today. Rugby football had a strong following in the Cooma area until 1924, when Rugby League started in Cooma and took over. The new game of rugby league was popular because it was played on a Sunday, whereas Rugby was played on a Saturday, which was a working day for most people. In 1957 a group of enthusiastic graziers, with some help from the Snowy Mountains Authority personnel and league players, played six social games of Rugby Union for Cooma winning five and drawing one. The chief instigators were D. Hickson, J. Keegan, T. Shorrock, and D. Howard. The team disbanded in 1958. Evolution of the Club In 1961/62 Jock and Patrick Litchfield, Peter Martin-Smith, Ian and Michael Litchfield and Jock Mitchell were playing for the Eastern Suburbs in the ACT Rugby competition. At that time the ACT was regarded as a NSW Country Region that participated in Country Week held in Sydney every year, playing against all other country regions. In 1961 Jock Litchfield was selected to captain the NSW Country Rugby team to tour NZ. The rugby officials could see that there was a wealth of rugby talent on the Monaro; Jock was approached concerning the possibility of forming a rugby club to represent the district in the ACT competition. This proposed 10-team competition covered a good-sized area of southern NSW. A meeting was held in Cooma where it was decided to form a club to commence playing in the 1963 season. Bruce McDonald, a Snowy employee, was elected President. In 1963 the club reformed as the Harlequins Rugby Association later to be called the Cooma Rugby Club.

In its first season only a first grade side entered the original three-grade Canberra competition. The man to whom rugby owes its existence in Cooma in the early days is the original secretary John Sharman. It is almost certain that the Rugby club would not have officially got off the ground without him. Other members who gave enormous support to the secretary was: Jock, Patrick and Ian Litchfield, Peter Martin-Smith and Jock Mitchell. Another long serving player and administrator of the club during the 1960s and 70s was Bill Priest who both as player, coach, secretary and president has done much for the development of the club. During the same period members such as Bruce McDonald, Bob Dorman, Dave Lambert and Brian Kaufline were closely involved in the running of the club. In 1969 Peter Payten was selected to play for Australia against Fiji in a test match. The middle 60s to 1972 saw Cooma in a fourgrade Canberra competition, Cooma fielding first and third grade, Yass had second and fourth grade teams. 1970 was a big year for Cooma Rugby, the first grade side reached the semi finals of the ACT competition for the first time in its history but ended up losing by two points to Norths. This was played on the Cooma showground and was the first time any finals were played outside the ACT. This was also the year that the juniors were formed. Michael Fitzgerald was selected to play for Australia in the 1975/76 Wallaby team touring England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In 1975 Cooma had their first success when the reserves won the premiership, the prestigious Eibe cup in Canberra, coached by Graeme Bell. The 70s and 80s saw Cooma men’s and ladies boat race teams undefeated, Cooma may not have won on the field but were unbeatable back in the pub. Continued on P2...

Pictured top: a very early rugby team from the Monaro. Middle: this year’s Red Devils reserve grade team. Bottom: the 2013 first grade team.

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Success from very social beginnings... Continued from P1... In 1988 Cooma club celebrated their 25th anniversary and won the first grade Monaro cup for the first time, coached by John X McGee. Although missing out on winning semi finals and grand finals, Cooma’s next real success was in winning the first grade competition three years running, 2000, 2001 and 2002, coached by Bill Garnock. 2003 saw Tim O’Ryan play for Australian Schools and the Australian School boys as did James Price both of whom came up through the juniors. Many junior sides have been premiers or runners up since 1970. A lot of Cooma players have been selected for Monaro, ACT and NSW sides over the years.

The last 25 years there have been a number of people who have worked tirelessly for the club to ensure it is what it is today, to name a few, Peter and Margaret Quodling, Bill Garnock, Fred Nichols, Mick Mayhew, Stephen Rolfe, Bede McCosker, Heather and Graham Litchfield and Gordon Litchfield. There are a number of players who have had the honor of playing 100 or 200 games for the club. Cooma is proud to have a long list of life members: B Kaufline, B Priest, P Sydney, K Moxon, G Bell, S Weinholtz, P Williams, B Garnock, G Dobbie, B Mattner, J Schofield (dec), M Cesarin, J Buckley, P & M Quodling, M Mayhew, G Litchfield, H Litchfield (dec), S Rolfe and B McCosker.

Cooma Rugby Club matches were held at the Cooma showground in the 1960s and 70s. Pictured above and top left, Cooma at home. Prominent in the photos, Graham Litchfield, Greg Evans, Rob De Fegely, Barry Podlich and Richard Doyle. Bottom left: Cooma formed a composite side with Queanbeyan for the 1985 season. Below: now Golden Oldies, but also premiers in 2000, 01 and 03. In 2012, the club celebrated with a ‘gentlemen’s luncheon’ followed by a Golden Oldies match.

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The club’s first Wallaby - Payto played against Fiji Peter Payten, a member of the 1960s team, became Cooma Rugby Club’s first international representative. Having played while at St Joseph’s in Sydney, when ‘Payto’ returned to Nimmitabel he was a natural slection for the side Peter and his partner Mary returned to Cooma some years ago and became major sponors of the club through their leasing the Royal Hotel. Now living in Mooball, they can’t attend the 50th celebrations, but have sent the club this message: ‘Mary and I sincerely apologise to you all for not being able to join you at this function. ‘Mary had booked a break from the Pub at Mooball, to Hervey Bay Qld, over this period and sometimes one has to let her have her day in the sun!!!!! ‘I first played for Cooma Rugby in 1967 with blokes like Bill Priest, John Akister, Mal Dunne, Doc Litchfield, Jim Shonk, The Sydney Brothers, Tony Fraser and Brian Kingi, it wasn’t hard to

play OK. A fair few of us played in the ACT, now known as the “Brumbies� Rugby Club over the years. ‘Over the next 20 odd years I had some wonderful times, although writing a few of Dad’s cars off which wasn’t so gratifying. ‘Both my brothers Graeme and Anthony (Kruey) played with the Cooma Rugby Club. ‘Graeme moved on to Easts in Canberra and played a lot of ACT Rep games. ‘Kruey was in this wonderful team at Cooma, which I coached in 19????, we called “The Colts� and they were all of 18 and 19 year olds who were playing “Open Rugby�. ‘They went undefeated until the Grand Final, when The Goulburn Teachers College Coach substituted 1st grade League players into their team. ‘Sorry about boring you all, but again congratulations to the club to present and past players on the clubs 50th! Keep up the good work, mainly with the ladies and the juniors.

Peter Payten, surrounded by his team mates at the time of his selection in the Wallabies team to play Fiji in 1969 - from left, Perry Sidney, Ian Grose, Geoff Venables, Keith Russell and Tony Frazer. This clipping from the Auswild-Bradley-owned Cooma-Monaro Express.

The older we are, the better we were - players’ memoirs... Brian Kaufline Brian ’Kaufy’ Kaulfine, was the first Cooma Rugby Union Club player to play 100 games with the club. Kaufy started playing with the club in 1962, having playing rugby league. His teammates included Patrick ‘Doc’ Litchfield, Peter Martin-Smith, Ian Litchfield, Peter Payten, Graham Litchfield, Peter Mason and others. He was coached by Michael Barber, a clergyman from Adaminaby. Kaufy also made the ACT rep squad. Playing at breakaway, Kaufy was a fierce defender and a shrewd play maker. He retired when he was 39. His wife Chris kept putting his boots in the bin – just to give him the hint – but he keep taking them out and putting them on again. Kaufy can’t remember winning many competitions, but remembers vividly the club’s social life. “We once threw a bloke on the train at a buck’s night�. Really, Kaufy, where did he end up? – “The train was stationary, so he was alright.� On one occasion after a match against Norths, the hosts were captivated by the tales of Cindy Dyball playing the piano for the Cooma boys (see separate article – “how did we survive?�) Somehow or other, Norths magicked up a piano, brought to the club house and Cindy obliged with several tunes.

Kaufy said he didn’t get to any grand finals – he was injured for one of them. In the serious completion of boat racing, Kauf was usually midfield – ‘I didn’t go in many of them – we were picked on form and I couldn’t drink quickly.� He said he thought Royals were probably the club’s toughest opponents in those days – ‘we never seemed to be able to beat them, they had a few Australia players in their team�. Kaufy doesn’t think the game of rugby has changed a great deal some rule changes have sped it up a bit, but the ‘core fabric’ is still there. Overall, Kaufy said his years in rugby had been a lot of fun. “I remember one bus trip back from Bowral. ‘Snoopy’ Parsons was sitting in front of Jim Shonk. They both had their windows open. ‘Snoopy’ was sick and it all blew back in the window all over Shonky’s suede coat – he wasn’t very happy. “The skiing trips were a lot of fun – we used to get up to some tricks skiing. “Then there was the hangi at Litchy’s – we decided to walk to the Cascades because Litchy knew the way. We ended up sleeping on the river bank overnight�. Kaufy can also be credited with the beginnings of the Jindabyne Bushpigs club, through a bet he had with Harry Cummins. George Timmins George Timmins started playing rugby at school in Condobolin before going to school

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at St Joseph’s.College in Sydney He continued playing for Joeys for two years and when he started studying veterinary science at Sydney University, he played for the uni’s second grade team for a year. In 1974, he played for Easts in Canberra and was also selected for the ACT squad. In 1975, George came to Cooma to work as the local PPB Board veterinary inspector and joined Cooma Rugby Club. George played at either lock or breakaway and continued playing for the club until he was 33 (1981). In that time he also played for the Southern Tablelands side. George was club secretary for some years and was voted Clubman of the Year for his contribution. Some of his contemporaries included Simon Lang, John Spellman, Buzz Aboud, Doc Litchfield, Graham Litchfield, Bill Wilkinson, Geoff Honey, Bill Priest and Peter Craig. ‘Timmo’ was a wholehearted participant in the social aspects of the club. One of his favourite memories is of the ‘Lemon Fab’ incident at Dodds Hotel one Sunday afternoon after watching the City vs Country match at the club’s HQ. Timmo said that while the club didn’t win many finals matches, they were unbeatable in the boat races. Graham ‘Litch’ Litchfield Litch started his rugby career at the tender

age of 11. Six years later, he was having his first run with the Cooma team and so began an almost life-long association with the Coom aRugby Union Football Club. A past president, coach and Life Member, Litch has been the driving force behind the 50th reunion celebrations. He lists as some of favourite moments with the club, the 1970 first grade semi final, 1974 winning the first grand final, coaching the junior teams 1996 to 2002 with mixed successes on the field but the biggest success was getting the local boys playing rugby. Litch said “Many life long friendships were forged on the rugby field both within our own team and with the opposition. “Even though we may have not won many premierships over the years I played we did have an unbeatable reputation for winning the after game boatraces, our singing the good old rugby songs and any other tune Cindy Dyball could manage to get out of the old piano in the Cooma. He believes the game today is a bit faster and a better spectator sport, but laments rucking is no longer allowed. As to favourite characters or players “there are too many memorable characters to name and as far as incidents go, perhaps not suitable to mention in the paper�. continued page 5

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Cooma RUFC semi final against Norths - Cooma Showground 1970 Back row (L-R): James Brady (Res), Michael Barbara (Coach), Bill Sidney, Tony Fraser, Charlie Traill, John Tumataroa, Graeme Litchfield, Perry Sidney, Peter Mason, Bob Williams, Bill Priest (Captain) Front: Tom Sidney, Peter Payten, Brian Kingi, Peter Smyth, Wayne McGregor, John Mooney.

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Above, Jock, Patrick, Mike and Ian Litchfield. Below, reserve grade side from1975 A 1970s Firsts team. Back (L-R): Mike Barbara (Coach), Bill Preist, Charlie Traill, Tony Frazer, - winners of the Ebie Cup, with Brian Kingi; Centre Row: Peter Payten, Greg Fuller, David Lightfoot, Brian McPhie, John Parsons coach Graeme Bell and supporters. Front: Wayne McGregor, Peter Mason, Perry Sidney, John Tumataroa, Tom Sidney.

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th COOMA RUGBY UNION COOMA OMA RUGBY UNION ANNIVERSARY FOOTBALL CLUB INC. The game they play in heaven... FOOTBALL CLUB INC. The older we are, the better we were - players’ memoirs Bill Garnock - four premierships

Bill Garnock spent 21 years playing for the Cooma Rugby Club, but also spent some time as coach. He considers himself lucky to have played in the club’s first premiership side, in 1988 and then coached the Firsts to three consecutive premierships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Bill joined the cub in 1975 and finally finished playing in 1996. He was captain and captain coach in the 1980s. He continued playing reserve grade while he was coach, just so the team would not forfeit. He said it was his aim to have the players back-up where necessary, to ensure two teams took the field.

“In the country, you have two and half teams and training, but only one and a half teams away to play” Bill said. “It’s important the teams don’t forfeit.” Bill said he played with some of the ‘originals’ but also with their sons over the 21 years he played. He said although he missed the first and fifth decades of the club’s history, he was there for the middle 30 years. While not closely involved with the club, Bill is still a keen member, supporter and spectator. He will give a brief history of the club at the reunion dinner. Continued page 6

Clockwise from above: John Spellman, Simon Lang, Richard Doyle, Paul Spain, George Timmins, Peter Payten.

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The older we are, the better we were - players’ memoirs... The Sidney phenomenom

Brothers

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Sidney Brothers formed a crucial part of the Cooma Rugby Union Club. Tom Sidney arrived in Cooma at the beginning of February 1966. He was asked to play rugby league, but then club president, Bill Priest, happened across Tom at training at the Cooma showground and told him he was going to play union. He contacted his family back in Wellington, New Zealand and two weeks later, his brothers Bill and Perry also arrived in Cooma, recruited by Bill, who had also arranged employment for them at the Snowy. The three brothers were fit, eager and lived for rugby. As members of the Petone Club, they were serious about their sport. They trained alone, going for five mile runs and thinking rugby for 90 percent of the time. It took a while, but eventually their Cooma team mates eventually converted them to Australian conditions – pub on Friday night, play Saturday and pub again immediately after. It didn’t affect their enthusiasm, or talent, for the game. The brothers’ presence meant more additions to the club, with Brian Kingi, and Johnny Tumataroa also joining the ranks. These talented players formed the nucleus of an enthusiastic Cooma first grade. Perry remembers a semi final match played at the Cooma Showgrounds against Norths. The team used St Pauls parish hall to get changed in and walked to the grourd. He said when they reached the side gate, they were amazed by the size of the crowd – it seemed the whole town had turned out to watch the game. It was a torrid affair. Peter Payten kicked four penalty goals from the sideline and Cooma was leading until a few minutes before fulltime when referee Smith awarded a penalty against Perry, which Norths converted to give them the lead and the win. The team was trained at that time by Mike Barbera. The match wasn’t without incident. Perry said there was a strong backline featuring Brian Kingi, Perry, and Brian Waters, a former Commonwealth Games

sprinter. But Johnny Tumatoroa turned up late – and ‘half cut’. “He was throwing the ball all over the place and I kept catching it, but we had to take him off at half time. Bill took over at half back� Perry said. As well as the highs there were a few lows – like the 99-3 thrashing the team suffered at the hands of Western Districts. The score could have been 100-0 except for Cooma knocking the winger out of play just before the bell. Perry also made the ACT rep squad and was part of the team which played against visiting Lautoka team. He also played against the Illawarra squad and suffered from cramping because of the heat. His

drank the boat dry in the crossing from North to south island. As tour leader, Perry was able to show the tourists some of his Maori culture, which they appreciated. Perry fondly remembers the camaraderie of the club, the friends he made, the gutsy people in the club who just wanted to play rugby, the pub days and getting the guitar out. He donated a trophy to the club, the Sidney Brothers Cup and would dearly love to be at a presentation night to present to the winner. A life member, Perry said he would like to see a little more respect made to the people who contributed so much of their time and energy to the club.

team mates in that squad included Peter Ryan, Peter Scott, Barry Sibley, Dave Crimmns and Mal Dunne. Players Perry remembers included Bill Priest “Bill was everything then: Peter Mason, Richard Puddicombe, Peter Payten, Tony Frazer, Mike Brennan, Bruce Thorne and Graham Litchfield. The boys continued to play for a few more years. Perry until about 1974 and has made a couple of cameo appearances for other teams since – once in 1985 and again 10 years later. He is hopeful of selection for the Golden Oldies team for the reunion – so long as the players respect his age. In about 1985, the Cooma Rugby Club sent a touring team to New Zealand, led by Perry. Thirty players, which included a few Bushpigs, took the two-week trip. Perry said it was memorable – the group

Unfortunately, both Bill and Tom have passed away - too soon.

The man who was ‘everything’ Bill Priest has, as Perry Sidney said “been everything’ in the Cooma Rugby Club. Bill joined the club in 1964 when he moved to Cooma from Wagga to work on the Snowy. He said at that time the team comprised mainly locals, with a few school teachers thrown in. He played with Jock, Patrick and Ian Litchfield, together with Steve Sadokerski, Jim Norris, Norm Knight, Bruce Thorne and later, Chris Reeks, plus Dave Wallace. Bill said the team benefitted from the Snowy Scheme, as many players came and went according to their work with the Snowy.

In 1966, Bill was responsible for recruiting the Sidney brothers into the team and also finding employment for them. Bill remembers some of the club’s striong players, like Brian Kingi, Tipi Ruru, Mick Brenna and Mal Dunne, who went onto a an impressive career as player and coach. He remembers the fleet-footed ‘Payto’, Peter Payten, who joined the club when he returned to Nimmitabel from St Josephs School. In the early days the club was quite strong and played against visiting international teams. Changes to the competition saw the club alternately struggle to find numbers and then thrive. In 1984, the club joined with Queanbeyan to form a composite club which, Bill said, lasted the season and was able to field four teams. He said the club was disadvantaged because it was ‘stuck south of Canberra’ and the competition required a lot of travel to Crookwell, Bowral, Boorowa and Goulburn, which was very difficult to maintain. “We were doomed� Bill said, but things changed and Cooma joined the league it has now played in for more than a decade and in 2000, 01 and 02, won three premierships. Bill played until about 1979, then took up coaching, then had a break and then returned to coach and ‘muck about’ with the club. He remembers the early days of the competition which were dominated by Royals, before Tuggeranong came into being. He said the club has enjoyed some good victories and some real ‘whoppings’. What he appreciates most from his involvement with the club is the friendships he has made – “that’s what most people play for�. He said he enjoyed being associated with a wide variety of players over the years , from ‘when we were young’. He paid tribute to the many people who have contributed so much to the club ‘like Marg and Peter Quodling they have put an enormous amount of work into it�. . Pictured, a typical Perry Sidney pass.

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The beginnings of junior rugby in Cooma Left: some early junior rugby action and pennant winners. In the first five years of junior teams in the Canberra rugby competition, the club won four premierships. Pictured below, today’s juniors in action this season. Bottom left: Bayer donated $1000 to the Junior Red Devils this year. Chris Reeks To my knowledge, junior rugby union in Cooma and on the Monaro had its origins in 1970, when five Monaro High School teachers, Wal Fitzgerald, Bruce Thorne, Norm Knight, Rod Goodison and Chris Reeks, coached teams in the Canberra Junior Competition. They would play home and away games to coincide with the senior teams. This meant on away games, we would leave Cooma at 6.30am on a Saturday morning on one of Rube Armitage’s Cooma Coaches and head for Canberra. Once the junior games would finish, three of the coaches, Bruce, Norm and Chris, would head off to some part of Canberra to play their respective games. Home games were played either at te showground or at Rotary Oval prior to the senior games. We would have a canteen run by Mrs Joan Brown, (her sons played in the junior teams). The proceeds would help fund the transport and other coasts. In the first five years of Cooma’s entry into the Canberra competition the teams won four premierships, much to the displeasure of

some in the ACT. The following is a brief history of those early years. The records are a brief and not many and my memories of those days (especially after the Saturday nights) are very hazy. If anyone has better recollections and can correct any mistakes or omissions, please do so. It would be great to have an accurate record of those days. In 1970 there were three teams – U/13, U/14 and U/16s. The coaches were the ‘gentlemen’ mentioned previously and the teams met with mixed success. The U/14s lost the final to Canberra Grammar 11-0. In 1971 four teams were entered with a

U/15 team taking the field. They surprised the Canberra competition with the U/16s winning the Walton KN at the beginning of the season and then going on to reach the final. They also won both of their games against Dickson High School and Queanbeyan High School. The U/15s were runners-up in the KO, going on to lose only one game (against Downer) during the competition proper. They won against Daramarlan 16-3 in the final and then reversed the decision against Downer, winning the grand final 8-6 – Monaro’s first premiership. The U/14s played well, reaching the semi finals, where they were defeated by the Canberra Hawks 14-3. The U/13s had a rough start to their rugby career, winning only two games. 1972 was a mixed year for the MHS

teams – the U/16s who were last year’s premiers started off well but with a mounting injury toll were forced to withdraw form the competition.’ The U/15s suffered similar problems but were able to continue in the competition, eventually being narrowly defeated in the semi-finals playing a man short. The U/14s enjoyed a very successful season, going through undefeated, thus being the minor premiers. They defeated Canberra Hawks 8-7 in the grand final. The U/13s had a mixed season, coming fifth in the Canberra competition but winning all three of their games against Dickson High (26-4), Queanbeyan High (8-0) and Bega High (8-0). From 1973 on, various teams were entered in the Canberra competition with coaches such as John McGee (MHS principal and mad rugby nut) and Bill Priest (Cooma 1st 15 player) looking after the teams. In 1978, Bill coached an ACT team that included two Cooma boys, Mark Weston and Mark Newell. They beat a Victorian schoolboys team 32-0 but lost to a Queensland team 41-3. The outstanding player to come out of the junior ranks was Michael Fitzgerald, who was selected for the Australian Wallabies. Michael unfortunately suffered a serous injury on the England tour which cut short a very promising career. This is a very short history of the beginning of junior rugby on the Monaro, which is still going strong in 2013,

(Chris Reeks was a teacher at Monaro High School from 1970- to 2013).

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Polo Flat Rd, Cooma NSW 2630

COOMA OOMA RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB INC.

50

th

ANNIVERSARY

The game they play in heaven...

The older we are, the better we were - players’ memoirs... THE COMMITEE AND MEMBERS OF COOMA RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB THANK ALL OF OUR PAST AND PRESENT SPONSROS FOR A GREAT 50 YEARS, ESPECIALLY THE FOLLOWING CURRENT SPONSORS.

The Alpine Cooma Pty Ltd

President Mick Mayhew

Mick Mayhew moved to Cooma in late 1989, got involved with the Cooma Rugby Union Club from the word go and has been involved ever since. Mick has been both a player and a coach for the club and has been made a life member as well as being the current club President. His fondest memories of the club include some of their greatest successes and Mr Mayhew believes that he was able to be a part of the club in their strongest years. In 1998 Mick was part of the reserve grade that made the final, which was a huge achievement considering they had not won the premiership since 1988. From there it was upwards for the club winning the premierships in 2001 and 2002. “The club is in a very strong position at the moment, we have four junior sides and two senior sides and a lot of players in the senior ranks came up through the junior ranks.� Mick grew up playing Rugby Union as a second rower and before joining the Red Devils he played for some very prestigious teams including sub-district in Seven-Hills, a couple of years playing for Smithfield and Parramatta and he played police league in Sydney. “I think it’s a really good team game and it gets everyone involved,� he said.

‘Mrs Rugby Union’ - Betty Mattner

COOMA

Known as Mrs Rugby Union, Betty Mattner has been dedicated to the club for almost 30 years and was made a life member in 1997. All three of her sons played rugby union in Cooma and her son Paul Mattner even went on to play for Canberra. Betty not only manned the scoreboard every Saturday for almost 30 years but she was also famous for shouting words of encouragement from the sidelines. Sometimes getting so involved in the game that she was actually banned from the sideline a few times. “I remember one game at Monaro High School where I was running up and down the sidelines. The opposition was running for the line and I yelled out to Mark Weston “tackle him!� and Mark tackled him and then I went down on top of them too. After that game my boys told me I was banned from the sideline,� Betty laughed. “I always watched the game on the creek side of Rotary Oval away from the crowd, I never liked the crowd I always

wanted to be watching the game by myself,� she explained. Betty recalls being disgusted at the fact that parents used to pay their children for each try they scored. “I couldn’t believe that parents would do that. It made their children not play as a team and just focus on themselves. My kids played sport because they liked it and that was reward enough,� she said. Betty also travelled with the team to games in Canberra and can remember a few drunken return trips where some of the players were quite entertaining. She recalls one trip in particular where she was minding her own business and knitting when Martin Stockl approached her and asked for a lesson. After that the coach of the team thought it would be a great idea if after training they would have a half hour knitting lesson by Betty Mattner. Betty was extremely dedicated to the club and sometimes spent up to eight hours watching the games. I got a lot of joy out of the seniors and the youngsters playing. We had a lot of fun,� she said.

Mick Schofield

Over the last 30 years Mick Schofield has been a part of every facet of the Cooma Rugby Union Club and has spent time as a player, a coach, a committee member and a chairman. He began his time with the club when he played for six or seven years in the 1980s to early 90s. Mr Schofield played in the front row and can recall some fantastic successes whilst playing with the team. In 1985 the team combined with Jindabyne and travelled to New Zealand where they toured the country and played some of the best teams in New Zealand. “It was such a fantastic opportunity and I’ll never forget the friendships and the camaraderie,� he said. But Mick says the best memory by far is when they won the premiership against ADFA in 1988 for the first time ever since the club’s inception. “It’s a great sport to be involved in and I played with a great bunch of people. I’m looking forward to a great reunion,� Mr Schofield explained.

Craig ‘Haggis’ Mitchell

Craig ‘Haggis’ Mitchell has been both a player and a coach but he admits his greatest success is as a player. His first memory of rugby in Cooma is when he was in year 11 at school and had to play against the teachers college team. Despite getting beaten by a lot Craig learnt that

he wasn’t good as a back at all and after that game he played as a forward in the second row. After year 12 in 1979 Craig left Cooma and didn’t return to the Red Devils until 1984 just in time for the 12day trip to New Zealand organised by their coach Perry Sidney. Craig recalls being warned that out of the three games that they were playing the first two would be easy and the last game would be the hardest to win. However the team was dismayed to discover that the opposite was true getting flogged in their first two games and coming closer to winning in the third. Craig recalls some very tough competition and some very large men on the opposition. “One of the front rowers on the opposition was a shearer and he was so big that he was playing with bare feet because he couldn’t wear football boots. Later in the trip after getting flogged by his team Mick Schofield tried his luck in a shearing competition against this guy and didn’t succeed at that either.� Craig remembers having the chance to play amongst some players who are now playing professionally in National and State teams. He recalls playing Queanbeyan and being faced with a forward team of Ricky Stuart and David Campese who would pass to each other from about 30 metres away and continue scoring tries with the Devils being unable to do anything to stop them. The team also got some hidings from the Royals who had Geoff Didier as their star player who Craig managed to clean up in a tackle resulting in Didier suffering a broken ankle and Craig feeling bad for being the reason Didier couldn’t play for the Wallaby’s that season. In 1988 Craig captained the Red Devils and lead them to victory in the Premier Grand Final for the first time since the clubs inception. After this success he went on to play for the rep side in Canberra where he went on to Country Week and won B grade in that competition. Craig also coached in 1989 as well as his son’s junior team in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and also second grade in 2011. But Craig admits that there is no feeling like being a part of the team and he says he will never forget his days playing as a Red Devil or enjoying the company of his team mates after a game at the pub. “The best thing is the team and going through thick and thin together and playing hard on the field and off it as well,� he said.

MONARO

COOMA RURAL

SOVERIGN INN COOMA Set amongst rolling plains, with snow-covered peaks in the distance, Cooma is the largest town in the Snowy Mountains and gateway to the State’s alpine area. An ideal location to base yourself for day trips in the Snowy Region and being only 90 minutes from Perisher Blue, Thredbo, Charlotte Pass or Mt Selwyn Snowfields, Sovereign Inn Cooma is a stop off point on the way to the snowfields. Just 5 minutes walk to the centre of town, located at 35 Sharp Street Cooma, Sovereign Inn has 31 motel units, 4 executive family rooms and 8 serviced apartments (newly renovated). Ranging from AAA rated 3.5 star to 4 star, the motel has everything you need, including a licensed restaurant, when seeking a Cooma motel for business or pleasure. Visit our website: www.sovereigninn.com.au Let your hosts, Property Managers Sharon & Kevin McLachlan, provide an atmosphere for you to enjoy your visit to the Sovereign Inn and Cooma.

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