Plains Rangers President's Report 2009

This year was looked on as a transition year for Rangers. The loss of the majority of last season's team, a new coach and an influx of young players meant quite a new beginning.
The decision to be based at Awakeri worked out well over all. There was worry with the devastation of the grass caused by the black beetle, and we did have a couple of home games where the pitch was in poor condition. However the facilities of the Events Centre made for an enjoyable venue for changing rooms and after match function. The sign recently erected at the Events centre makes it look like our home, and a place for visiting teams to respect.
Coach Aaron Muggeridge did very well to bring along this new blend of players. Juggling the needs of youngsters new to senior football and the necessity to have a balanced team on the field was never easy. The extra difficulty of having key players unavailable due to work commitments on a fairly regular basis was another headache. Aaron, assisted by Dan Baxter and Jason Pullar, did very well under these challenging conditions and got the team through the season, playing competitively and pulling off several good results.
Our sponsors, Gary Fowell Builders and Little Orchard Preschool have continued to support us and be happy with our efforts; hence our financial situation is sound.
Thanks to Aaron and Dan for securing the funding from Southern Trust, which was another help for a good season.
Highlights of the season:
not losing to either of the Whakatane teams in our division,
unearthing some very promising young talent,
Chris Johnston saving a penalty at Whakatane to give us our first win,
Jason Pullar getting tackled by his own team mates on the pitch,
Jimmy Krause scoring a hat-trick against Te Puke (our first since 2007),
Jono smacking a ball into Kyle who was eating a pre-match pie at Rotorua,
finally having the sponsors' cup game after it was called off cause Whakatane couldn't field a team,
a hard fought sponsors cup game where our team impressed a lot of people.

I congratulate Aaron in his efforts, getting the team to a respectable position, enough to keep the sponsors happy.
A big thank you to Margaret for washing the strip every week, as well as her secretary work. Many thanks to Stewart, too, for his minding of the treasury.
I look forward to the 2010 season, when hopefully all of New Zealand will be in football mode with the World Cup finals in focus.

Barrie Hawkes

Plains Rangers prize list 2009

Endeavour Vince Russ
Most Promising Chris Johnston
Personality Brendon Oats
Sportsman Jordan Ogilvy
Golden Boot James Krause
Young Player of the Year Chris Johnston
Players' Player of the Year Jason Pullar
Player of the Year James Krause