Sport
22 September, 2022
Wolves juniors win club of the year award
THE Stanley River Wolves were named Sunshine Coast Junior Rugby League Club of the Year, at last Saturday’s Rugby League Sunshine Coast presentation night.
It had been 10 years since the other occasion that the Wolves won the award, which is decided by votes from each club while the clubs cannot vote for themselves.
The Wolves received a trophy to store in the clubhouse, and also received a perpetual trophy which will be returned at the end of next year’s football season.
Club president Mary-Anne Hallam said, “We are so extremely honoured to receive the award and I am so proud of our club, players and volunteers who all played a part in the club’s success this season.”
Asked if there was anything different or unique about the way things operated with the Wolves junior rugby league club this year, Mrs Hallam said, “I feel we engaged more with the other Coast clubs, particularly those with us in the South Zone like Beerwah, Caboolture and Beachmere. We helped each other out.”
One example Mrs Hallam gave was the Wolves U17 girls team merging with Beerwah, with these two clubs sharing the games and training sessions.
Mrs Hallam said the Wolves also hosted games for other clubs on a Friday night while the other clubs could not use their own fields or lights, and that the Wolves also assisted clubs with the use of first aid officers.
“I think our relationships with the other clubs on the Coast have improved due to networking, good communication and our willingness to help out when we can,” she said.
“We have some outstanding coaches who are helping develop a positive culture at the club.”
Mrs Hallam said the Wolves had received messages from other clubs, not just in the Sunshine Coast competition, but also those that the Wolves had met at carnivals in Charleville, Roma, Maryborough, Bundaberg and Gladstone.
Mrs Hallam said these clubs told the Wolves that they should be proud of the sportsmanship of their players and how well they represent the club.
With the award criteria, Mrs Hallam said consideration was also given to each club’s coaching staff and players’ participation in development squads, judiciary record, crowd behaviour, and involvement during the year.
The Wolves had difficult times this year, with Mrs Hallam saying the floods had a major impact on the club both financially and emotionally.
Mrs Hallam said there was $113,000 in equipment loss, and that more than five months’ wait to rebuild the club’s canteen facilities and multiple washed out rounds resulted in further loss of income.
“We’ve become very proficient at grant application writing, which has helped relieve the insurance shortfall,” she said.
“We secured a total of $65,000 in grants this season which allowed us to get back up and running relatively quickly compared to other flood affected clubs.
“Our volunteer base this season has grown in size, largely because of the floods I believe.
“The club has managed to run the canteen without a paid canteen convenor in place with the help from our teams.
“We have so many volunteers putting their hands up for committee and coaching roles next year, and it feels as though we are really building something great.”
