Harden Junior Devils Gearing Up For A Comeback

It has been 13 years since there has been a Harden Junior Devils rugby union team, and nine years since there has been an organising committee. That is now a thing of the past.

The Devils held a meeting with 19 members present, ranging from children’s parents, the general public, ex-committee junior Red Devil members, current senior Red Devils and head of SIRU Jack Heffernan.

A committee has been formed and its members, including President Jeremy Martin, are keenly searching for youngsters interested in getting out on the field, kicking goals and having fun.

“We’ve been working hard to get expressions of interest from kids who are keen to play,” Martin said.

“We’re keen to get as many kids back in paddock as possible and growing every year from there.”

Harden Junior Rugby Union Club would love to see as many kids from surrounding towns and villages with an interest in playing junior rugby join them.

“We know that for years, Cootamundra Junior Bears and Young Junior Yabbies have been there to accommodate our juniors while we weren’t formed,” Martin said.

“We’re still keen to keep a strong bond with both junior clubs and we thank them for their support over all the years.”

Having Junior Devils back on the paddock will be an opportunity to give local children extra pathways into representative sports.

As junior rugby is only played on a Sunday, children have the opportunity to play two sporting codes on a weekend.

Rugby will be played every second Sunday, with children playing two games per day commencing term 2, 2024.

Alternating Sundays also allow parents with limited free time over the weekends to enrol their child into a sport that isn’t played every weekend.

The Junior Devils look forward to hosting a final/grand-final day as well as a gala day in the future.

These special days not only give our young players the opportunity to play against different teams, but bring business into the town when families travel here to support their children.

Having a junior rugby club brings extra support to the senior clubs as well, with families keen to watch on Saturday afternoons.

Both tackle and tri-tag are inclusive sports meaning both boys and girls can play contact or non-contact rugby.

Due to a new ruling, children will only be allowed to register to either tackle or tri-tag.

Harden Junior Red Devils currently has an expression of interest form open on their Facebook page, which has shown a lot of interest towards tackle.

“We would love to get a few more interested in the newly formed tri-tag which will require 10 to 14 players per age group,” Martin said.

“Please, if you have children interested in junior rugby, find our expression of interest on Facebook or reach out to the club for assistance as we’d love to see more numbers rolling in for every age group.”

“Interest is open for sponsorship, as we have already had enquiries we are working towards getting our sponsorship packs out.”

“If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of Harden Junior Red Devils please do not hesitate to reach out.”

Junior Red Devils Executive Team

President - Jeremy Martin
Played Junior Devils and current prop for the senior Red Devils. Jeremy has two kids who can currently play for the Junior Devils. Cooper in 10s tackle and Stella-Louise in 8s tackle with another ready to play 6s tackle in the 2025 season.

Vice President - Charlie Brown
Played Junior Devils and current player and President of the senior Red Devils. Charlie has jumped on board to give backing from the senior Devils.

Secretary - Kace Brooks
A former senior She-Devils player and former committee member of the seniors Devils, Kace has a little girl ready for the new game brought in this year called tri-tag rugby. Tanna will be playing under 10s.

Treasurer - Ali Betts
Is known in the community for all her work with the schools and commitments to other sporting groups. Ali currently has two children ready for junior Devils next year with Fletcher, who has a lot of experience in rugby and Parker in 8s tackle.

You can contact the committee through their Facebook page - Harden Junior Red Devils, via email at hardenjuniorrugby@gmail.com or via phone with Jeremy Martin at 0422 011 175.

• Topics:

• Rugby Union