Geelong Rams Touch Rugby

06/12/2022

2022 Touch Tops are "in".

If you ordered a 2022 Rams Touch playing top, I'm pleased to advise that they are in and we are now taking payments for these. Updated cost is $38.50 (incl. GST).

Tops must be paid for before they can be issued, and for those that indicated they needed one, we expect that commitment to be honoured so that the Club is not out of pocket.

I'll send an updated message to the various team chats with payment details.

Cheers and thanks in advance!

19/10/2022

~ Tops Tops Tops - Season 2022/2023 Playing Tops ~

As per comms via our various Fb Messenger channels, we've had a concession from the GTA to re-use our existing Touch Tops - the ones with the numbers on the back (not the Rams training tops) this year for the summer touch comp.

For those that don't have, we are about to order new tops (see design below) that this season are being supplied by a local Torquay company' Indigo Wolf.

I have about 20 orders so far and need to close this out tomorrow so we can get the order in by the end of the week. Lead time is about 6 weeks (ideally sooner, we'll see what magic Elle may be able to do). Cost remains at @$37 and needs to be paid up front, so I'll be sending out a payment link to pay via the Rugby Club's Square service tomorrow.

IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT A TOUCH TOP FROM THE LAST TWO SEASONS, YOU NEED TO GET A NEW TOP OTHERWISE YOUR TEAM WILL BE PENALISED.

Let me know in the comments below if you need to be added to the list and size. Tx, Toby

13/10/2022

Good hit-out for our Wednesday evening Rams teams playing across the Family and Development divisions - was pretty wet underfoot but it certainly looked like everyone was having fun!

C-grade - Rams Lamb Chops v Stars (an all female team)
Rams up 9:2, dominant game with much mirth and merriment on the sidelines, baying for subs when someone made a mistake :)
This is a stacked side!

C-grade - Rams Jets v Touchy Subject
Rams down 4:10 in a good running game, and a couple of new faces on the paddock, great to see the return of the Gospers this season.

D-grade - Rams Mutton and Lamb v Can't Touch This
Rams down 1:5 in a really fun, well-mannered game played in great spirit - 6 of our U9s playing touch for the very first time and loving it! Interchanges running like clockwork and Owen's
dives the talk of the game.

So awesome to see a new crop of youngsters keen to give touch rugby a go - the future state sides should be sorted!

A reminder that if you're not registered yet, please get onto it.
Lets Go Rams!

10/10/2022

Great to see a number of new faces on the paddock last night down at King Lloyd Reserve, and good representation for our Rams across the Monday evening comp, results as follows:

A-grade - Rams Touch v Who's Chloe
Rams up 10:2, dominant game with a few of the boys fresh from the National Youth Championships (NYCs) and applying some game strategy and moves they learned up in Queensland.

B-grade - Rams Avengers v Tryers
Rams up 9:0, good, solid game, also with a couple of the boys just back from NYCs having represented VIC Storm U16 and U14 and under the careful eye and guidance of our Vakaru family coaching combo - lots of coaching moments kn the field for some of our newbies with the older and more experienced players imparting some of their knowledge.

Awesome to see this level of skill being brought to our local comp, well done.

A reminder that if you're playing on Wednesday, please get registered!

Lets Go Rams!

10/10/2022

~ Female Exhibition Match @ Geelong Grammar School, Saturday 22 October, 9ish ~
Over the last couple of years, Geelong Grammar School (Corio Campus) have been building up a female touch footy program for the school to compete in the Vic Australian Private Schools (APS) Sports.
As GGS prepares for their 2022/2023 summer campaign, they are keen to have an exhibition match on Saturday 22 October at their Corio Campus, starting 9ish (exact time TBC).
I was approached last night by one of their rugby coaches to see if we can field a team - any females interested (junior or senior) please let me know in the comments below and we'll see if we can get this off the ground.
Cheers, Toby

10/10/2022

~ GTA Summer Comp 2022/2023 Season Draw ~
Hi players and families, just a quick note to let you know that the season draw is out and available on the GTA website, just click into the "comp/div" that you're playing in. Over time, this will also show the scores and the ladder position of each team.
This will be helpful for disorganised souls like me to pop onto the family calendar and be reassured that you won't miss a game - also if its not in the family calendar, it's not happening (apparently...).

Geelong Touch Association's Competitions and Clubs

10/10/2022

TOUCH IS BACK!
Super excited that the Geelong Touch Association's 2022/2023 Summer Comp kicks off this evening down at King Lloyd Reserve in Geelong.
It's been an interesting build up to the season with the GTA announcing a "new" Development Grade on their Wednesday evening comp, and an opportunity for some of our parents to take to the field with our little kids and introduce them to the game.
Once again, the Geelong Rams are well represented at the GTA comp, with a total of 5 Rams teams being entered, and a number of our players (junior and senior) also distributed across other teams:
Monday A-grade - Rams Touch
Monday B-grade - Rams Avengers
Wednesday C-grade - Rams Lamb Chops + Rams Jets
Wednesday D-grade - Rams, Mutton and Lamb
We wish all the teams all the best for the season, play hard, respect the referee and the opposition and hope you have fun in the process.
Go Rams!

30/09/2022

2022 National Youth Championships - Sunshine Coast (Touch Footy)
- Day 2 update

Overcast conditions today on the Sunny Coast and another tough day in the office for our kids, lots of hard running and good touch being played, but so difficult to compete against the NSW and Qld teams, who collectively just seem to have a higher skillbase.

U18s
Round 3 saw the kids having a bye, and a bit of a lie-in and chill before their first game of the day, Round 4 against the South Queensland Sharks U18s - very competitive game and the teams were locked up at 4:4 at half time, final score 11:9 to the Sharks, such a close game and the boys were gutted with the loss, especially considering they were 6 on 5 for most of the game following a send-off from one of the Queensland players (repeated rough touches and then arguing with the ref), somehow this made them more determined, and despite the overlap the boys struggled to keep them out, so dangerous when in the 7. What it has done is muck up the Sharks' position on the ladder with a narrow points differential.
Round 5 had the boys up against the Sunny Coast Pineapples U18s, and they came out firing, determined to make a statement. Quite a physical game (again) but the boys were excellent on D and attack and prevailed in the end with a 6:5 win, the pineapples were definitely not expecting that!

U16s
Round 3 our boys were drawn against Tasmania U16s, a very close, tight game, with some phenomenal individual performances from two Tas players, with a bit of confusion in D, the boys went down 9:8, they were gutted, but to be fair, Tasmania played very well and our boys may have been a little over confident going into the game with the expectation that Tasmania were going to be one of the weaker teams.
The boys' next game was just on dusk against the Brisbane Cobras - man these kids were arrogant, they barely even troubled themselves to warm up, they were so good though, schooling our boys with a 15:1 loss, our guys kept trying right to the end, but their D was so good, it was just difficult to get through and they seemed to be able to split our defence with ease, showing of some really flashy footy in the process. Their arrogance didn't endear them to the Storm supporters though.

U14s
Didn't get to see the U14s today as there were a couple of clashes (maybe Lai could provide an update...)
Round 4, loss to the NSW Hunter Western Hornets 17:2
Round 5, loss to the Sunny Coast Pineapples 12:4

Off the field the kids are gelling well and some good friendships and bonds being formed, Coaches and Mangers are keeping them grounded and they're embracing the opportunity to play at this level and loving the experience. Families who are up here are weathering the emotion and the elements (bit of sunburn) and providing the best encouragement of the tournament - go Vic Storm!

29/09/2022

2022 National Youth Championships - Sunshine Coast (Touch Footy)
- Day 1 update
Warm day on the Sunny Coast and our Rams boys are settled in their squads and into play on the first day with some wins and some losses. It's a massive step up from our local affiliate comps and even our Vic State Comp, the tempo of the game is much higher and the kids are all re-calibrating what a rough touch actually means in Queensland!
The scale of this tournament is massive relative to what we see in Vic, with 11 fields operating concurrently, and up to 12 game slots across the day. Refereeing is of a consistently high standard, and each game has 9 referees allocated, 3 who are officiating the game, two assistants who are running water for the refs and are there as a back-up in the event of injury, a ref-qualified scorer for each team and a coaching referee, the "grey ghosts". Collectively, they're not giving an inch, I've seen many interchanges penalised (7-on), and they're not tolerating any back-chat - as a consequence, the games are fast and efficient.
U18s
Our U18 boys (Brodie and Bowen) have been allocated to Pool A of their competition, and had a solid Round 1 win against Tasmania U18 (14:5) which gave them some good confidence at the start of the tournament.
Round 2 saw the boys come up against a very fast and slick NSW Combined High Schools U18, going down to them, but holding the margin (11:4) which was a solid effort against this team. Nice try from Brodie in the middles, showing off his "goosie" that he's been working on in our local Geelong comp over the last few years 🙂
U16s
Round 1 saw our U16s (Rory) drawn against the Central Queensland Bulls U16s, one of the consistently solid performers of the comp, going down to them 10:0.
Round 2 was played under lights and bombing midges against a dominant South Queensland Sharks U16s, who, despite some solid individual performances, ended up running away with the game scoring 19:2 in the end.
U14s
Round 1 was played in the heat of the day and saw our U14 boys (Manny) drawn against a rampant Central Queensland Bulls U14s side who have obviously spent a lot of time playing together. Whilst the boys kept their composure, it was a challenge against the "maroon" onslaught, going down 18:1.
Round 2 say the boys drawn against the Sydney Scorpions U14s, again going down 17:1, but kept trying right till the end. It was a tough day in the office for the U14s, who haven't had the luxury of playing together before, unlike their Day 1 opponents.
At the close (20:00) it had been a big day of Touch Footy, and thankfully no injuries yet amongst these teams, the boys all played really well (despite some of the scorelines) and there was some fantastic skills and passages of play on display.
Will provide further updates and post photos and videos as they come to hand.
(Noting that we've also got a couple of other kids in the Vic squads who play touch in Geelong, Levi (U18, ex Galaxy) and O'Shea (U16, ex Detroit), both boys are putting in some solid performances!)

05/09/2022

~ Rams Avengers come 2nd in Grand Final ~
In a close contest at the 2022 Geelong Touch Association’s Winter Season Grand Final, the Rams Avengers narrowly lost to “Where’s Eddy”, who had finished top of the ladder.
It was a great game, befitting of a Grand Final with both teams trading tries and the ball travelling up and down the length of the field all night. Half-time score was 3-4, with a tiring opposition in the 2nd half, Rams Avengers just unable to pe*****te their solid defence, going down 4-6 at the end.
Congrats to “Where’s Eddy” for the win and a massive shout out to all the Rams Avengers who have graced the field this winter - you’re a young team playing against older and more experienced oppositions, but you’ve carried yourselves incredibly well and the results speak for themselves. Well done all!
Special mention to Durden who didn’t ask for the job but ended up being the chief player wrangler and made sure we had a team to take the field each week.
Next job…Summer Comp!
Go Rams!

05/09/2022

Rams Avengers Needs you!
Are you at a loose end tonight? Come down to King Lloyd Reserve at 18:30 to see our Rams boys and girls take on "Where's Eddy" in the 2022 Geelong Touch Association's Winter Comp Grand Final!
Very exciting for these young athletes to finish 4th on the ladder of what has been a cold, wet and dark winter, and to now be playing out for the Grand Final.
All the best for tonight!
Go Rams!!