"Massive club effort" sees all Forbes Junior Rugby teams through to grand final

Each of our Forbes Junior Rugby Union teams has earned a place in their grand final - and on the sidelines for each are members of the team that won the first grade premiership 20 years ago.

It's pretty special, says David Hodder, who captained that side and will this Saturday be one of those to watch his son don the anniversary jersey for his own junior grand final.

The playing strip is a unique one: worn in 2003 in honour of Paul Cronin, Brad Ridley and Greg Sanderson, lost in the Bali bombing not 12 months before the Platypi held the premiership shield high with their mates in their hearts.

This anniversary year, it's been worn by the club's senior and junior teams.

Now our 12s, 14s, and 16s are preparing for grand finals this Saturday, and Forbes Rugby Club president Chris Sweeney and Junior Rugby Club vice president Dan Beard couldn't be prouder of all involved.

Mr Sweeney says the club has put the work in to increase junior participation and it's a thrill to see its future looking bright.

"That's a pretty outstanding effort - and if you add the 18s in there that gives us four teams in 18 and under grand finals," Mr Sweeney said.

"They have all shown incredible strength and character - resilience - turning up and performing every week especially against these bigger clubs," Mr Beard added.

"It's a real testament to the strength of their character, the quality of the coaching and the quality these kids can play with.

"It's been a massive club effort."

Hodder is just one of the 2003 team members mentoring the next generation of Platypi alongside Randall Grayson, Greg Moxey, Justin Walker, Troy Howe, Luke Hurford, Andrew Glasson, Michael Ryan, Tony Frazer and Jim Cronin who are all affiliated with the juniors.

"It's right throughout the club, giving back a little of what's been given to them by coaching the junior rugby," Hodder said.

That goes through to the senior grades with Steve Jarrick coaching the Colts, Chris Francis and Tony Wallace the first grade.

Hodder reckons it was only natural that so many Forbes rugby players' kids would end up playing the sport, with the full support of their families.

"The club was a great place to be playing sport through the 1990s and early 2000s and the mateships that were made back then are obviously still very strong today as can be seen with all the coaching staff being associated with the times back then," he said.

"It runs hand in hand with life: you go through and play your sport, you have your children and put them in the sport that you've been in and end up coaching the team."

The 14s blazed into the grand final undefeated: winning their way through the season and their major semi.

"It's enormous to see them enjoying success," Hodder said.

They're a committed group - many of them have celebrated premiership victory with the Under 12s in the past two years but there are some newcomers.

"There's about five who have never played rugby before this year so it's been a great transition for some of those guys: they've learned the game and learned the way that we play, and fitted in really well with the team," Hodder said.

"This year we've advanced our rugby a fair bit more. We're quite a small side, compared to the other teams, so we have to have a bit of a game plan in place that overrides the bigger player.

"They're all going to put in 100 per cent, I know that. They've never given up before."

The 12s and 16s both battled out victories over last weekend to earn their grand final spots.

Troy Howe watched his 12s come from third place on the ladder, defeating Orange City with just 13 players and then Saturday's qualifier against Dubbo Roos with just 15 players - their opponents had 23.

"It was an unbelievable effort, they just kept going and going," he said.

Howe has been coaching some of these kids since they were just four or five, so it's great to see them rising up through the ranks.

As a member of that history-making 2003 side, he's also pleased to see the club-wide junior success.

"It's a big effort from a little club," he said.

Our 16s coach Greg Moxey seconds that.

His side finished the regular season fourth and defeated first Parkes, then Mudgee, to earn the rights to take on the so-far undefeated Dubbo Roos.

Moxey has been working with this squad for years, and watched them grow into terrific young men and rugby players.

A Bali survivor and 2003 grand final winner, he too will be proud to see these kids don that anniversary jersey this weekend.

"I can't be any prouder of them: their work ethic and their dedication to training - they've been working hard all through the season and that's put them where they are this weekend," Moxey said.

"Their attitude has been awesome.

"I'm pretty proud of the whole club, with three teams in the grand final, for a small town to be part of that."

For 16s captain Ollie Walker, it's an honour.

"I feel proud to wear the jersey and make the grand final with a strong team, particularly in the jersey my father and coach wore in 2003," he said.

No matter what the scoreboard says at full time on Saturday, the club is incredibly proud of this group of juniors - for what they've achieved, yes, but also how they've done it.

"They're disciplined, they are very respectful, I think the club and the whole town should be very proud," Sweeney said.

"They're a great group of young kids," Beard added.

"They enjoy their rugby, they enjoy each other's company, they just embody everything we want to do in terms of rugby and kids."