The Dubbo Rhinos are excited by the prospect of fielding junior teams for the first time in almost a decade for the 2017 season.
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The Rhinos will have teams in the under 15s and 17s, joining their senior sides. Rhinos president Ian Burns
“About eight years ago we fielded a full complement of junior teams and we have tried for the last couple of years but just haven’t had the numbers.
“An opportunity came to us to have under 15s and 17s teams this year so we are pushing forward with it and we are very positive.”
That opportunity came after a large group of players across the two age groups became available, Burns said.
“We had been talking to a number of people, a few people had asked us about juniors and finally someone said they had a number of kids who were interested,” Burns said.
“It’s a combination of kids who have already been playing the game for a number of years and some who are new.”
The goal for both teams, according to Burns, is to be competitive and encourage players to stay for future seasons.
“A number of players are very good, we think they are players who will trial with, and maybe even play for, Central West,” he said.
The hope is that the junior players will help the Rhinos strengthen their senior team in years to come.
“We hope the juniors will flow into colts. It’s a requirement to field a colts team now so we can’t rely on one-year flashes in the pan. Having juniors will give us a consistent flow of players into that side,” Burns said.
On Thursday night the Rhinos will hold a meet and greet for prospective players across all junior and senior grades.
First grade will train from 6pm at Barden Park with interested new players encouraged to arrive from 6.30pm. A barbecue will be held at the completion of senior training.
“We would welcome any new players, whether they be in the 15s or 17s, colts, reserves or first grade,” Burns said.
The Rhinos have recruited two New Zealand players that will play in the halves in first grade this season.
“The half has quite a lot of experience while the five-eighth is a younger guy but he looked very sharp at training. We are also looking at a few other guys who are eager to come over and play for us,” Burns said.