Even without a finals berth in the Southern Inland Rugby Union competition, 2023 was a successful year for the Deniliquin Drovers.
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The Drovers finished just outside of finals contention this year, in fifth with 32 points.
Coach Joe Gogarty said it is a better final result than expected for the side, which was unable to come together to train throughout the season.
He said it’s also an impressive finish for Deni’s first top grade rugby side in 23 years.
Heading in to finals for SIRU were the Wagga Waratahs, Wagga City, Wagga Ag College and the Tumut Bulls.
The Waratahs and Wagga City face off in this weekend’s grand final.
“All round, we achieved more than we expected to,” Gogarty said of the season overall.
“It is the first time the Drovers has had a first grade side since 2000, and all the clubs in the league were very supportive of what we were doing.
“We managed to get a side together after being unable to field a team at all last year, and we stepped it up to first grade.
“It was all about trying to get rugby back in the community, not necessarily about making finals or winning a grand final in our first year.”
Gogarty said the benefit of playing first grade rugby compared to second grade, like in previous seasons, is that the Drovers were awarded more home games.
Less travel for a side with players who live all over the wider district was always going to be a plus.
“We travelled more than 2500km to play this season - not many clubs around the playing district commit that time to travel,” Gogarty said.
It was the spread of team members across the district that prevented the club from training together all year.
“Logistically, we just couldn’t do it,” Gogarty said.
“Many of our players are shift workers, and some had limited transport options available to them - particularly at the start of the season.
“But the belief in the team never altered.
“They just love rugby, and it was fantastic to have a good group of talented players.
“Our club became known for singing a hymn at the end of every game - win, lose or draw.
“They would include their opponents and the officials. It was just a way to celebrate the game, but it became a talking point and helped raise the profile of our club.”
The vast majority of the Drovers side this year were northern Victorian based workers in Australia on Pacific worker visas.
Coming from countries where rugby is king, he said they soon made an impression on the Drovers faithful and the rest of the competition.
“We had a number of existing Drovers make a comeback during the season because they could see the potential of this playing group.
“We already had Erasmus Bothma and Rob Scott in the side, but then we had the likes of Nathan Transton and Pete Gow come back part way through.
“If we can get all players to commit again next year, it will be easier in some ways.
“Although it might also be harder because other clubs were trying to poach our players in the middle of this season.
“And of course because a lot of players are here on the worker visas, there’s a bit of unknown there.
“Their work requirements are out of our hands. We even lost a few handy players this year when they were transferred to Mildura.”
Gogarty said player availability ebbed and flowed throughout the season, with the club’s major losses coming in weeks when numbers were limited.
“We were still fairly competitive, although when you only have a limited number of players and you get injuries and sickness, it has an impact.
“The games where we lost by larger margins were the weeks we had players missing.
“But at no point in the season did the team stop trying.
“Even in our losses, they were able to get some good points.
“The win at Tumuit (in round four) was a big turning point for us. Very few teams do well against the Bulls on their home turf.
“By about the half way mark we were really starting to play like a decent side, but we only needed one game with a few away and we came unstuck.
“All the other clubs have second and third grade sides they could pull players from.”
For the Drovers to confidently approach the 2024 season, Gogarty said the club needs more than just player commitment.
“We’ll certainly give it (first grade rugby) another crack in 2024, but the next important thing after player recruitment is for the club to have more volunteers.
“Without that support and involvement, the club is nothing.
“This year we had great support from president Paul Marshall, team manager Elanie Bothma, Rob Scott, Angela Coffey and Tracey Ho. But we want to see more people get involved.”
The Drovers have been taking a well-earned rest since the end of the SIRU home and away season, but Gogarty said they will be ramping up rugby again very soon.
The Drovers will look to contest a rugby sevens competition later in the year, and may even put in a bid to host a round in Deniliquin.
Rugby sevens is an abbreviated form of rugby, where sides field seven players instead of the 15 in a normal rugby union side.
Anyone interested in playing or supporting rugby in Deniliquin is encouraged to get in contact with the Deniliquin Drovers via the Deniliquin Drovers Rugby Union Club Facebook page or www.denirugby.com.au.
Senior journalist