about Five Dock Dockers

Five Dock “Dockers” Junior Rugby League
Founded 1963.

Opportunities from under 6s – under 12s boys and girls of all levels.

  Announcement: Training Five Dock Park  Wednesday 5pm-6pm.

The benefits of playing rugby league for children

Physical fitness

Rugby league is an excellent way to get children active and to promote movement and exercise. It requires a great deal of strength, speed, endurance and playing the sport can help children develop the basics of these qualities. Rugby league also helps to improve coordination balance and agility as well as overall cardiovascular health.

Teamwork

It is a team sport that requires players to work together towards a common goal. Even at a young age, this can teach children important skills such as communication, collaboration, and leadership. Rugby league can also help children learn how to support and encourage their teammates, which can be valuable in all areas of life including school.

Discipline

Rugby league requires a great deal of discipline and self control young children who play rugby league young children who take part in Five Dock Dockers learn how to follow rules, take direction from coaches listen to instructions.

Resilience

Rugby league can help children to develop resilience and the ability to bounce back from challenge. Our games incorporate children having fun and building resilience. 

Confidence

Rugby league can help children develop confidence in themselves and their abilities. As children learn new skills and techniques, they can become more self-assured and feel more comfortable taking risks. This can be particularly valuable for children who struggle with self – esteem or shyness. 

Social skills

Children who take part in rugby league classes from a young age, including preschool, grow and flourish in social situations. Interacting and playing with other children within the rugby league class, builds social skills and confidence.

Rugby League Tag – Laying the Foundations

The focus of Rugby League Tag will be on fun and learning the basic fundamentals of catch, pass, and run (hopefully in the right direction!). In the process of progressing into tackle Rugby League, children take part in the TackleReady program, a 6-session program designed to teach kids how to tackle and be tackled safely and effectively.

Why start with Tag?

Different kids develop at different stages. By giving kids time to learn the basics before progressing to tackle, we give them more of a chance to enjoy their experience and grow in confidence. All successful junior sports have modified rules for entry-level children. Why? Because we know ‘fun’ is the most important factor in getting kids to come back to sport season after season. Will this effect kids long term capabilities? No, New Zealand Rugby has had Ripper Rugby (tag) for U6s and U7s for more than 15 years and the All Blacks are one of the most successful sporting teams in the world.

Player Development Framework (PDF)

With the majority of our eleven (11) PDF initiatives targeted at 6-12s-year-olds, the Player Development Framework provides the optimal delivery of Rugby League to participants based on their age, stage of development, skill level, and aspiration and is grounded in evidenced based research.

Introducing our 2024 Committee

President: Jade Griffiths
Vice Pres: Richard Baker
Treasurer: Rebecca Rafton
Secretary: Kim Towells
Registrar: Wayne Geer
Ground Managers: John Critchley, Mick Towells, Nick Speranza + Keiran Smith
Canteen: Rebecca Griffiths
Gear: Richard Baker

Club History

This is the story of one of the Club’s Junior teams of 1968, who we believe to be the 5 stone, 7 pound representatives at the time (weight instead of age in those days!) 

What innocent young faces they were in those days………. yet we have it on good authority that they were anything but!

For the record, this team were runners up in the competition and potentially were one of the best teams ever to pull on the mighty Five Dock jersey. Coached and mentored by the legendary Billy Byatt, and with the no nonsense and strict Bernie Franny drawing up the weekly game plan as team manager, this team played outstanding football week in, week out. 

With the forwards bunched together with the backs, and the backs intertwined with the forwards, every week spectators saw one small bunch of kiddies running all over Barnwell Park much to the encouragement of their vocal parents on the sideline. 

This team oozed class.  Even at such an early age, the Owens boys set the standard with their determined running and were an inspiration to all of their team mates. Johnny Elliot regularly starred for the team, often grazing his knees on the Barnwell turf. On one particular occasion when it looked like his bottom lip was about to quiver after a particularly heavy bump, Peter Sullivan ran past  and teased the befallen Elliot about  his predicament. This automatically saw young Elliot spring  to his feet and and chase Sullivan all over the paddock to somehow try and get even, forgetting the state of play of the game; much to coach Byatts displeasure.
  
Paul Beger was another player to be reckoned with in this team. The secret move of giving it to The Tank from a penalty tap in the hope he would steam roll the opposition, would more often than not work for the mighty Dockers. Many an Enfield Federal or Concord United opposition player was left lying strewn on the ground after Beger had finished with them. 

The team had speed to burn with Jimmy Hamil and Peter Byatt always at the vanguard when scoring movements were on. After all, ‘player of the match’ prize in those days was awarded a Cadburys Freddo and it was highly contested. After  one game when Stephen  Gillespie was awarded the prize, Keith Gorton looked jealously on as the wrapper was slowly taken off the Freddo and suddenly lunged forward to snatch the chocolate. On that day, 13 excited youngsters were last seen heading towards the fringes of Gadsen & Hughes in hot pursuit of the Freddo, much to the concern of the gathered parents. 

In any case whether winners or losers, at games end coach Byatt would always shout the kids a mixed bag of cobbers, snakes, freckles and musticks, always served with love and kindness from those two darlings at the canteen Dot and Mary; while Billy and Bernie would discuss who the teams best player was over a quiet Resches Pilsner behind the Frannys 65 HD Holden. 

Yes they were the days all right. No i-Pads, computer games, Twitter or Facebook to keep the kids inside on a nice winters day. It was Saturday morning at Barnwell and a clip over the ear from Mr Franny if you misbehaved.

Want to Join The Club?

Registrations are now open for our 2024 season. We have positions available on the teams below. All new and returning members can register here now.

Safe Play Rules