In what was the first day that an Australian Fijian Rugby League team took the field wearing their new coat of arms but it didn’t help bring them any success at the Valley 8’s tournament held at Harbord Reserve on Saturday February 22nd. A heavily depleted AFRL outfit were defeated narrowly in their opening match against eventual semi-finalists Tugun and were defeated in their next game also. Their last match against Naraweena saw the AFRL finish with a victory. Considering the situation the players performed to their best in trying circumstances.
The AFRL will look closely next year at taking part in matches held at such a date that coincides with Jim Beam Cup, State Cup and Toyota Cup pre-season games. Late inclusions and last minute withdrawals hampered the teams preparation and the AFRL board will reconsider their approach to tournaments held at such time next season.
AFRL Chairman James Pickering said "Next year we will either bypass such tournaments held at this time or utilize such an event to bring in players playing in the outer regions. This will be a good opportunity to bring in guys from the country areas who we haven’t seen before, put them in a camp situation and use this event as a development exercise. It will also help us broaden our organisation and spread our wings a bit more."
The AFRL’s attention now turns to preparing for the NSWRL sanctioned U/16’s Development Cup and it’s proposed tour to the UK after the World Cup. We will also be planning fundraisers and also an AFRL family day for the community to be held at Belmore.
The AFRL would like to thank it’s sponsors Moore Park Bronco’s, Errea, Brad Parkes –Auspak Financial Services, Sport Plus and Benji 06 for their continued support.
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