Magpies avoid wooden spoon

Eric Ugle and his Clarence Coast under-15 rugby league side has battled hard in 2010.

A CLARENCE Valley junior sporting side has defied all odds to avoid a wooden spoon.

The Clarence Coast Magpies’ under-15 rugby league line-up has toiled through 2010 with as few as nine players stepping onto the field for some contests.

Despite the depleted stocks, the Dave Shannon-coached outfit has notched five victories from their 18 matches this campaign.

This included a famous triumph against Kyogle in the penultimate round and a stirring victory over bogey side Casino earlier in the season.

After “winning” the spoon in 2009, the strength of the Magpies’ brotherhood this year meant no games were a formality for opposition sides – even if rivals took on a team missing troops.

“The last few years the boys have been struggling for numbers,” Shannon said.

“It’s pretty much all the same boys that have stuck together.

“The core group of them just love playing the sport.

“I got in there with them this year and hoped we would get away from the wooden spoon.

“For five years we have struggled and this year has been our best year.”

A gripping round one win against South Grafton takes a lofty place on the highlights reel.

But the nine-man performance against Ballina stands out in the coach’s mind.

After starting the contest with 11 fit men, injuries saw four less than the permitted number of players walk from the field.

“They know they are there for each other,” Shannon said.

“They are knackered after each game.

“Most times they lift themselves because they know they are short.

“But the whole nine of them played that hard (against Ballina) we only went down 44-12 in the end.”

Shannon is hoping some fast-talking in the off-season will help bolster the Magpies’ stocks in 2011.

An alliance with the undermanned Yamba Buccaneers – which sees four players code-hop during the season – has helped.

But the numbers still come up short.

“It’s hard for some parents to get them to training,” Shannon said.

“They talk to players and guys they go to school with.

“But the problem is there is too much to do in a coastal town – fishing and surfing. It’s good in many ways but bad for us.

“Next year if we can get a full squad we could dominate a lot of teams.”

Shannon singled out Shawn Laurie, nephew of NRL player Daine, as a player to watch in the future.

The squad met Ballina in their final match of the campaign on the weekend.

For five years we have struggled and this year has been our best year