Mission Statement:
To provide the BEST Junior Rugby Experience for
PLAYERS, FAMILIES and OFFICIALS
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2024 MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Our Juniors joined Ironbark Juniors and Lake Macquarie Juniors for a combined 2024 presentation ceremony in late September.
The three junior clubs played under the LIT Alliance (Lake Macquarie, Ironbark, Tahs) this season because off lack of player numbers.
The major award winners for The Tahs were:
Brian Tolhurst Junior Player of the Year Award - Christopher Kroon
Scott McDonald Junior Club Person of the Year Award - De-Anne Johnston and Chris Grieve (shared).
Congratulations to Christopher, Dee and Chris on their awards which were presented by members of the Tolhurst and McDonald families.
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‘ONE CLUB - ONE FUTURE’ - NEW JUNIOR CLUB FORMED
A support meeting organised by a Working Group from the Juniors and Ironbark Junior Rugby Union has decided to form a new junior club for the western suburbs of Newcastle for the 2025 season.
The meeting at Diggers Wallsend on 7 August voted for West Newcastle Rugby Union Club to be the name of the new club which will play under the name ‘Wildcats’.
Organisers hope to enter boys and girls Under 13 and under 15 teams in the Hunter Junior Rugby Union’s Spring 7s competition. The new club’s first Annual General Meeting was held on 20 October.
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WARNERS BAY DENTAL - MOUTHGUARD SPONSORSHIP
Great news from one of our sponsors in Dr Rowan Burgess and his team at Warners Bay Dental who re-newed their sponsorship of the Juniors for 2024.
The sponsorship agreement involved supplying and fitting mouthguards for our young players who make an appointment.
See full details by going to our ‘Sponsors’ page.
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2024 JUNIORS COMMITTEE
Congratulations to Dee Chatillon on being returned as President of the Juniors for the 2024 season.
Dee was re-elected to the position at the Juniors 2023 Annual General Meeting held on 5 December.
Bronwyn Kroon has returned as Treasurer while Jo Wells is again getting ready for the new season as Canteen Co-ordinator but has a fellow co-ordinator in Jade Veyt.
New faces on the committee include Tayler McShane as Registrar and Chris Thornton as Public Officer and Jade Veyt. Chris Grieve is Secretary while Cohen Smith and Joanne Wells were elected as committee members.
Other appointment include Bronwyn Kroon as the club’s delegate to Hunter Junior Rugby Union, Jo Wells as Sponsorship Co-ordinator and Green and Gold Rugby as Social Media Co-ordinator. The position of Vice President is to be filled.
A number of coaching and manager positions received nominations at the AGM and appointments include:
Coaches:
· Girls Under 15s Coach – Ernest Staszek
· Girls Under 13s Coach – Dee Chatillon
· Under 11s Coach – Cohen Smith
· Under 8s Coach – Chris Grieve
Managers:
· Under 11s Manager – Jo Wells
· Under 9/10s Manager – Bronwyn Kroon
More details are printed on the website’s Home Page.
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2023 PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Congratulations to the major award winners at the Juniors 2023 Presentation Ceremony on Sunday (4 Dec).
A big gathering of players, officials, parents and supporters saw the following players and supporters presented with awards:
Scott McDonald Memorial Award for Junior Club Person of the Year: Grant Taljaard (Under 8s and Under 13s coach).
Bryan Tolhurst Memorial Trophy for Juniors Player of the Year: Andrei Gerardi
Under 8s
Players’ Player – Harry Thornton
Coaches Award – Nehamia Fean
Most Improved – Jacob Allen
Under 11s
Players’ Player: Emilio Gerardo
Coaches Award - Brydie Chatillon
Most Improved - George Hopkins
Under 13 Girls
Players’ Player: Levayah Bower
Coaches Award: Lucy Beahan
Under 13 Boys
Players’ Player: Riley Fahey
Coaches Award: Riley Fahey
Under 15 Girls
Players’ Player: Hali Delaney
Coaches Award: Scarlett Hagan
Under 15 Boys
Players’ Player: Tangarona Rangi-Garnham
Coaches Award: Sonny Dos-Santos and Cooper Curk
President’s Award for Service to the Junior Club: Keith Powell
Congratulations also to all the award winners in the various age groups and we look forward to seeing you play again for The Tahs in 2024.
Juniors President, Dee Chatillon, paid special thanks to the players, coaches, managers and parents who contributed to the 2023 season and also to new committee members for their work and dedication.
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2024 JUNIORS COMMITEE
De-Anne Chatillon is Juniors President for a second consecutive year and will be leading the Juniors in the 2024 season.
Committee members for 2024 are:
President: De-Anne Chatillon
Vice President: to be advised
Secretary: Chris Grieve
Treasurer: Bronwyn Swart Kroon
Public Officer: Chris Thornton
Registrar: Tayler McShane
Sponsorship: Jo Wells
Committee Members: Chris Grieve, Cohen Smith.
Canteen Co-ordinators: Jo Wells and Jade Veyt.
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The Juniors - History
The Waratahs Junior Rugby Union Club had its first players run onto the field in 1940 and is one of the oldest junior rugby union clubs in the Newcastle and Hunter competition.
The club has produced 11 Australian Junior Rugby players, 28 NSW Junior representatives and 86 NSW Country representatives. Our latest national representative was Maya Stewart who played for the gold medal winning Australian Girls team in the 2018 World Schools 7s Championships held in New Zealand and has been a member of the NSW Waratahs Super W squad since 2020.
A host of senior club members also played in junior teams for The Waratahs before gaining major representative honours.
The junior club offers a safe, value for money opportunity for boys and girls to play rugby in a great club surrounded by a family environment.
The club in 2023 fielded Teeny Tiny Tahs (2 to 5 year olds), Tiny Tahs (5 to 7 year olds), Under 8s, Under 11s and a merged Under 14 girls team with Lake Macquarie.
The Tahs also entered four teams in the Hunter Junior Rugby Union’s Spring 7s competition - these being Girls Under 13 and Under 15 teams and Boys Under 13 and Under 15 teams.
For Junior registrations, download the Rugby Xplorer app from the app store or click here for more information.
Another option is a link supplied by Rugby Australia. The link is:
To claim your active kids voucher, click here.
If you would like more information about the Juniors, please email: thewaratahsjuniorrugbyunion@gmail.com
You can also follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates!