Press Articles

Australian Rules Football: Centurions are playing by the Rules

Jun 4 2008 Evening Chronicle

NEWCASTLE’S Australian Rules football team the Centurions are going from strength to strength – and now sit top of the tree.
It is only the second season of action for the Tynesiders, who are based at Novocastrians RFC and lead the field in the Northern Division of the National Walkabout League.
They cemented top spot at the weekend with a 130-70 victory over Middlesbrough.
An impressive first campaign saw the Centurions finish second in the league and reach the Northern League grand final, where they played Durham.
They lost out in the final, but gained revenge by beating Durham in the league earlier this year.
Player Steven Allen said: “The team is doing nicely and being top of the table is testament to all the hard work the players have put in.”
The club were formed at the prompting of Rick Shrowder, the founder of the league.
With Aussie Rules becoming more popular and more players now competing, the Centurions plan to introduce the game to children in the region.
They will visit local schools to teach youngsters the rules, history, skills and tactics of the sport.
Last year two Centurions represented England In the Aussie Rules European Championships.
Ben Merrett and Simon Greetham were part of an England team which beat off competition from Germany, Spain and France to finish a creditable third out of 12 teams.
Newcastle Centurions train at the Novos club on Tuesday and Thursday nights (6.30). Anyone interested should go along or contact Steven Allen on 07845 045 606.

Aussie Rules: Newcomers to take on Europe

Sep 14 2007 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
 
AS sportsmen, Simon Greetham and Ben Merrett consider themselves rugby union players first and foremost.
But, while Novocastrians take on Barnard Castle without their fly-half and one of the back row at the weekend, the pair will be representing England Dragonslayers at Australian Rules football’s European Championships in Hamburg.
It is all the more remarkable when one considers both only started playing this summer to keep fit for the rugby season.
The pair play for recently-formed Newcastle Centurions but both insist there is no question of their new sport usurping rugby as their main focus.
“I’ve been playing rugby for about 20 years and I have to say I do prefer it but in one season I’ve progressed further with Aussie Rules than in my entire rugby career!” says 26-year-old Merrett.
“I really enjoy Aussie Rules, though, it’s a nice change – a little bit more relaxed and less intense.”
Merrett, a civil servant, and Greetham, an admin officer, will take today off to travel to Germany and meet most of their international team-mates for the first time.
“About a month ago I got sent an email saying I’d been picked for the European Championships,” recalls Greetham, 23. “I didn’t even know England had a team until then!
“Apart from Ben I don’t know any other members of the squad but I’m guessing because the southern teams are more established their players will be of a higher standard.”
The two forwards, whose Newcastle coach, Rick Shrowder, is England’s assistant coach, are in the dark about a tournament also featuring The Saints (Belgium), The Mighty Elks (Sweden), The Flying Dutchmen (Holland), The Finland Icebreakers, The Red Dragons (Wales), Austria, Catalonia, France, the Czech Republic and the Spanish Bulls.
“I haven’t got a clue what to expect,” Merrett admits. “From all accounts we’re expected to have a good side but it could go one of two ways.
“We don’t know what other countries are like because the sport’s fairly new in some of them.”
England will play a minimum of six, 12-minutes each-way, nine-a-side games over two days. Centurians play at Novocastrians’ home and the rugby club was keen to encourage its members to sign up, as eight or nine did. Like Greetham, Merrett is already feeling the benefits. “It’s definitely improved my rugby,” he says. “The way you catch balls goes totally against what you are taught in rugby and my kicking’s got better.
“It gives you something to focus on in the off-season, hones your skills and helps you develop new ones, not something that often happens at my age.
“There’s less contact and you kick the ball a lot more, something my coach never lets me do in rugby. You get a lot more one-on-one challenges, whereas in rugby there’s more people around and less space. There’s more places to hide.”

Aussie Rules: Aussie set to rewrite the rules

Aug 15 2007 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

It’s as fair dinkum Aussie as sports get, but Australian Rules Football is hoping to make its mark on the North-East.
IN so many senses, Novocastrians Rugby Club in Newcastle could scarcely be further from huge Australian venues likes the Adelaide Oval and the MCG, but Rick Shrowder hopes it can be the base from which his country’s unique sport establishes a foothold in the North-East of England.
This Sunday afternoon the small rugby ground in Benton hosts the inaugural grand finals of the North-East’s first Australian Rules Football league. Newcastle Centurions, Durham Swans, Hartlepool Dockers and Middlesbrough Hawks have been playing in the ARUK National League’s Northern Division on a fortnightly basis this summer.
The origins of the Newcastle club lay in a nostalgic session of internet surfing by coach Shrowder, who now wants to see it develop into a genuine sporting alternative for youngsters.
When the 30-year-old moved to the region from Adelaide in 1999 he did so resigned to the fact he had ended his days playing the sport until logging onto a social networking website.
“I played at junior level for Norwood, the next tier down from the ASL – the equivalent of the Premier League – until I was 19 or 20, then for other clubs until I moved to England at the age of 24,” he recalls.
“I came over with no intentions of playing Aussie Rules. I brought an Aussie Rules football over but just to kick about myself. Then one day I went onto the Gumtree website because I was feeling a bit homesick for Aussie Rules and asked if anyone else in Newcastle fancied a kick. Brian Clarke from Sport England got in touch and asked if I fancied setting up a team in Newcastle.
“I went to Novocastrians and they were really keen because they saw it as an opportunity for their players to keep fit and improve their skills in the off-season.”
The version which will be played on Sunday is not Aussie Rules in the purest sense, but a modification. Australians play 18-a-side on huge ovals used for cricket in the summer.
The Aussie Rules UK version sees teams of nine play on rugby union pitches. “We’ve modified the game so it’s much more accessible,” says Shrowder. “It’s still kicking, catching, running with the ball and full contact below the shoulder and above the knee. But you can only bounce the ball once and only kick it in your forward third to discourage any ex-pats taking part from dominating. It’s an easier way to play the game and easier to learn but requires the same sort of skills.”
There is more than just nostalgia behind Shrowder’s desire to see the game flourish here. “I’m a sports coach by trade and every day I see the benefits of sport,” he explains. “A lot of kids up here want to be the next Alan Shearer and that’s not going to happen so we need to give them another sport to try.
“There’s a lot of potential in the North-East because it’s such a sports-mad area. I certainly think it could cater for a couple more teams. I will be making myself known to other rugby clubs and the universities this winter. We’ve also had a little bit of interest from women and I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t have some women’s teams.
“At the moment the Newcastle team feels more like a group of blokes getting together and I’d like it to be more of a club. That requires bringing people into non-playing roles.
“Being brand new, there’s lots of areas people can get involved in – as players, umpires or administrators. We’d also like some corporate support because we need funding .”
Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Shrowder on 07986 822543.