Sponsors, parents, friends, supporters, coach, and players, welcome to the 3rd edition of the Oysters Circular. It is always a pleasure to be able to bring you another weekly update of the Oysters’ exploits, because there is never a dry moment on the reef.

 

From the Committee

 

The Oysters are starting to get into a groove as Week 3 of the season rolled around. With the playing quota of 35 people being met (holy dooley), the colony has started to become established. The Oyster Pack is developing a hardy, razor like character and is constantly evolving from filter feeders into Ocean Predators. This is shared by the backs who are complimenting the forwards, typified in the weekend’s game in the Oyster’s assault on the Combined Force’s XV. There would be no armistice or mercy in this battle as Admiral Argiris led from the front.

Exhibit A: Oysters’ supporters and players vibing down at A R Hurst.

 

As alluded to last week, the weekend’s fixture was an away game to Oyster Bay, and you guessed it, the men from Rushcutters made themselves at home. Another bus trip beginning at Port (Lord) Dudley and arriving to A R Hurst Reserve was a bit more subdued than the Oysters’ maiden voyage from the previous week. The clash was between 2nd & 2nd last, so understandably there was some complacency early on as the Oysters warmed up, this may have crept into the first stanza of the game, but we’ll leave that to Boonie to dissect.

 

Rest assured, victory belonged to the Oysters. Taking the charted path similar to last week’s trip heading south, we reached a new port, that of the “Combined Forces” Rugby team. Made up of serving and ex-servicemen, combined forces have the same premise and community values (or at least try) as the Oysters and like the Oysters are a new club to this year’s Jeffrey Cup. Unfortunately for them, that’s where the similarities ceased.

Exhibit B: As you can see the lineout was hotly contested.

As a club we have the utmost respect for the Armed Forces. However, as soon as you step onto the field against The Oysters, the gloves are off. A 19-0 halftime score was just the beginning as the game finished up with a 40-7 score line, who would have thought Oyster’s would enjoy so much meat!

 

Broken play turned out to be king in this game and something which the Oysters excelled at. With plenty of speed through the backline, comparisons were being made to Guinness World Record Holder Patrick “Shucker Paddy” McMurray and our own speed demon, Hamish Lorang. Shucker Paddy is the world’s fastest oyster shucker (39 oysters in one minute), and as you can see below (Exhibit B), H. Lorang has what it takes to wrestle that record off Paddy.

Exhibit B: Shuck meeee the man can run – Hamish Lorang on the move.

Exhibit C: One of our Hardier Oysters (Harri Greville), we put it down to having grown up in the frosty waters off the Welsh Coast, with our supercoach (Louis Biscoe) in the background.

 

Coach’s Corner:

 

“Week 3 saw the Oysters hit the road once again, venturing down south to take on another new-comer club to the Jeffrey Cup, the Sydney Combined Forces. Following a signature win last week against the Sea-Lice, the boys were looking to continue the hot start and establish themselves as a top of the table team.

 

Playing at Oyster Bay, our home away from home, the team was probably feeling a bit too comfortable coming out of the gates. We lacked urgency in our defensive work, and little communication saw us looking disjointed in attack. Some errant passes put us under pressure early but the Oysters held firm on the reef, repelling numerous raids by the Combined forces. Looking to simplify things, the piggies kept it in tight and started to build some momentum. Daniel Cheung was in everything, hitting rucks with ferocity and showing good footwork at the line to constantly make meters on his carries. Their work paid off and Lachy Argiris crossed for the first try.

 

Whilst still pretty scrappy, the Oysters showed enough patience throughout the remainder of the first half to add some more tries. The boys had worked on executing overlap opportunities during training, and it was pleasing to see this reflected on the field. Sam Wood & Nick Stubbs were operating well at 10-12, setting up their outside men nicely. Hamish Lorang in particular was a real threat, showcasing his express pace to go on some long runs down the left hand side-line. Not to be outdone, his fellow winger Seb Gould bagged some meat of his own before the half to give us a comfortable lead.

Exhibit D: Debutant Hamish Robertson warming up on the sidelines

 

The boys recognized the need for a tide change at the break, and some injections off the bench helped bring this to fruition. Justin Sayer & Jonah Clarkson brought plenty of energy & physicality to the field. Roy Harrison made his Oysters debut and was a dynamic threat from the base of the ruck. His quick and accurate service helped open things up for the team & his sniping runs paid dividends, scoring a try for himself in the process. Finally, Nick Findlay was an absolute machine, constantly securing turnovers & penalties due to his handy work at the breakdown. He showed good skills as well, using his soft hands to hold up the defence and set up runners outside of him.

 

The game was shortened due to a nasty neck scare to James Rickard, thankfully the big fella was cleared from any injuries later in the evening. A special shout out to Hamish Robertson, Tom Ritchie & Roy Harrison who all made their Oysters debut. These fine men didn't put a foot wrong and are a testament to the depth in the squad. We look to regroup and go again this week ahead of a massive homecoming game against the defending champs.”

 

- Louis Biscoe a.k.a “Coach Boone”

Exhibit E: VIS (Victoria in Sylvannia) Day

Sponsors

 

A big thank you to all of our sponsors and we hope that we are doing you proud through our performances on and off the field. We have a big home game down at Rushcutters No. 2 Oval this weekend and whilst we had planned on this weekend being sponsors day, in the current circumstances this event has had to be postponed.

 

Season Schedule

The weekend’s fixture can be seen as an entrée to the upcoming game, a top of the table clash at home has the hallmarks of a great game. The Oysters are introducing their first ever Tuesday fitness session to really get the team humming come Saturday. Looking at the weekend ahead and the BOM is forecasting heavy showers on Friday & Saturday but rest assured, the record of the Oysters in the wet is strong.

Around the Ground – Presented by Punt Hub:

 

“G’day, Mark from Punt Hub here and I’ll be presenting what’s hot and what’s not.

 

After running the stats from the first 3 rounds we are now able to offer some betting lines for this weekend’s action. Whilst we are excited to see how the top of table clash goes, it is the novelty markets that are causing the biggest buzz.

 

With James Rickard securing so many club firsts (first try, first yellow card, first guy to be taken away in an ambulance, first to destroy a jersey) we have a market for his next first.

 

Rickard to be:

– First to get a hat trick 10/1

– First to kick a drop goal 15/1

– First half time Oyster shuck 5/1

– First red card 10/1 (my personal favourite)

 

We are also placing odds on Red Dog’s (Will Pattinson) total minutes for the season. The over/under line is 15mins, though this may come in, as all the money is coming for the unders. Amazingly, 15 is also the over/under for how many beers he will consume during the game.

 

And lastly our Same Game Multi for this week:

– Oysters win

– Any Cheung for Anytime try scorer

– Lorang to slot first conversion

That’s paying 14.50.

 

Have a great weekend, and up the Oysters!”

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PuntHubAU/

 

(Please note all bets above are for banter purposes and not real bets).

Exhibit F: Ladder standings and it’s all tied up between the Oysters and last year’s premiers Burraneer.

Exhibit G: Next Game, top of the table clash for supremacy in the Jeffrey Cup. This could be a Grand Final match up and the Oysters will be treating it as such.

 

We can’t wait to provide an update on the upcoming game, and as always have a fantastic week, go the Oysters, and above all, SHUCK ‘EM!

 

Sydney Harbour Rugby Club