The Northern Beaches Glamour Rugby outfit, the Newport Nasties have returned home from their most successful Lovedale Gala Day at the Hunter Valley last weekend. A contingent of 19 elite athletes made the trek north and they did not disappoint the boistrous busloads of supporters at Tatlers Winery on Sunday. Among those making a return in the Blue, White & Pinks was the revered Dim Sim who showed what an asset he is to the team. "It gets very thirsty out there - time for a drink....." Dimmy commented on his way to the Bar Tent before a ball was kicked.

The weekend begun once again at Tempus Two Wineries where Skip McGrath and his beautiful wife, Donna flew to the venue in their private helicopter. Pizza, Sushi, Beer and Wine were then consumed by the descending horde of Nasties Families with the Kid's enjoying running around on the spacious surrounds. It was then off to Nasties Headquarters at the Crowne Plaza where Skip had prepared an itinerary to cover every moment of the Nasties stay. Firstly, the Mum's were off to a Cocktail Happy Hour where a race ensued between Jill King, Andette Flynn and Jenn Johnson among others to get to the Bar first and enjoy the delights on offer without Husbands or Kid's. Meanwhile, the hard-working Dad's kept the Kid's entertained and had the BBQ Dinner in full swing before the Nellies returned. A few fireworks then it was off to dinner for the Mum's, Kid's Club for the Children and the Bar for the Nasties.

Game day begun with the traditional Bacon & Egg Rolls for breakfast which were cooked to perfection by some of the Nasties culinary experts including Pete Johnno and Tinkerbelle Bentley. It was then off to Tatlers Winery for the days events which begun with the Mark Ella Rugby Clinic for all the youngsters. Some amazing skills were shown by, among others, Oscar Bentley, Aiden & Evan Flynn as well as the big hitting Kane Farrell. Many of the Nasties watched in awe as the future generation of the club showed off their wares. : I don't think my position in the team would be safe if some of these kids qualified for the Nasties....." Mita commented with a wry smile.

To the business end of the weekend and Game 1 of the Gala Day had the Nasties pitted against a Central Coast side looking to match it with their southern rivals. The Nasties began hesitantly with a lot of drop ball before being led to ascendency by the powerful running of Mike 'Cowboy' Sergeant. A welcome return for Mike 'QF1' Watts had the crowd excited as he combined well with the perpetual hard-working Adam 'The Axe' Law. The constant pressure shown by the forwards eventually provided some much needed ball out wide that saw Sean Panambalana stroll over to give the Nasties the lead. The pressure was kept on the opposition throughout the second half before part-time back, Michael King was caought awkwardly in a tackle and had to be chaired from the field. The Nasties opening their Lovedale Acoount with a solid 1-0 win. "It was great to be back out there....." Jamie King told the crowd after an outstanding performance in the forwards. 

Game 2 provided an uninspiring game against the Newcastle Old Spears who appeared intent to play the game as anything but by the Golden Oldies motto of Fun, Friendship & Fraternity. A brilliant try by Skip McGrath followed out wide by Darren Warrener had the Nasties leading by 2-0 at half time. Unfortunately the oppositions play was so sporatic the Nasties were not sure what level the match was to be played at. Eventually the Referee had had enough of the type of rugby and he called full time 5 minutes into the second half, literally sending off both sides from the field. "That fells a bit strange, normally I am the only one to e sent off, now the whole team has been shown the yellow card....." Sin-Bin said in dismay at the disappointing end to the game.

The final game was the highlight of the tournament for the Nasties as they played the Warnervale Wildcats. Some good fair play had both sides keen for a contest. The Nasties were first on the board after a breakaway try from Sin-Bin saw him race 30m to score under the posts before a second try to Sean Panabalana had the Nasties leading by 2-0. Warnervale were not to be outdone and came home strongly to be behind 2-1 at the break. Some great defence on the Nasties line especially by Trent 'The Enforcer' Williams, Paul Staunton and Coach Mojo kept the opposition from levelling the scoreline. It was then some brilliant work by Gaven Shehan, and Darren Flynn that had Sin-Bin over again for a very satisfying 3-1 win. "That is probably the best defensive effort all season.....: commented a tired Darren 'TTE' Vaux to the waiting media throng.

After the Rugby, it was back to the Crowne Plaza for a relaxing dip in the now 'famous' Spa where a record attempt was made to fit as many Nasties in at once. While the 2009 record wasn't broken, it was still soothing to enjoy a soak while over 50 Kid's ran around. It was then to a highlight of the weekend when the annual Lovedale Awards are presented. This year's awards and winners were:

Pizza was then on the menu for Dinner before the Kid's and Nellies reired for the night leaving a few Nasties at the Bar to keep the cash registers rolling. The next morning saw many Nasties Families leave early while those left enjoyed the delights of the Resort. Another great weekend was had by all Nasties and their Familes and we can only look forward to doing the same next year.

The Nasties focus is now on the next game against Dee Why Lions in a return to Porters Reserve on 7 August. We hope to see many supporters there.

Onwards & Upwards