By David Arnold
The annual general meeting for the Noosa Pirates was upon us yet again, and with it came hope. A crowd not seen at an AGM for as long as I can remember, was on hand to witness the rebirth of the Noosa Pirates.
The crew assembled to give the club a new-look in early January, keen for a fresh start to things on and off the ground.
While the exterior was shiny and new, the ongoing enigma of whether we could survive in a grade as a solo entity was forever lingering.
Players came in dribs and drabs as we struggled early in the preseason desperate for some ray of hope with numbers.
New leaders were appointed to try and persuade troops to once again suit up for the good of the cause.
Things didn’t look good at the start, we barely had enough players to field two teams, yet here we were aiming for three.
A lifeline from a source you wouldn’t call reliable was thrown to the Pirates and many were skeptical.
One man showed enough foresight to say ’yes we could do this’. And so began the season of 2017.
A new group of Pirates came on board to join tried and trusted players from previous seasons.
The young crop of Under 18s – under the guidance of newly-appointed coach Michael Duff – showed enough in a small space of time to convince old campaigners that this may in fact be a good thing.
Our second string of Pirates – under the tutelage of coach Anthony Zipf – saw many familiar faces prepare for one more season of pillaging.
Head Pirate Ron Greentree had to assemble and mould a machine the likes of which had not been seen before.
A perilous task met head on by not only the coach but his new-look band of cutthroats loyal to the very end.
Early signs were promising.
The Pirates were treading water yet keeping themselves afloat for the time being.
Something was missing. On the horizon came a vessel bringing with it past Pirates thought to be lost forever.
From across the Tasman and from the other side of the world they came to answer the call to help their brothers in need.
The crew was complete when a young Pirate on his maiden voyage, showed that he has the right stuff to mix it with the big boys.
What happened when this juggernaut took off will remain instilled in all Pirates forever.
The team that nobody gave a chance and a club crippled to the edge, had risen like a Phoenix from the ashes.
Sunshine Coast Gympie rugby league 2017 Division 1 premiers Noosa Pirates.
This isn’t a dream, it happened. President Greg Christensen said ’yes’ when many around him were saying ’no’.
It was said in the closing weeks of the season that we were ticking off the boxes one at a time.
To every player that pulled on a Pirate jersey this season we thank you. To the committee that gets things done even when you don’t want to do it, we thank you. To the supporters that came along week in, week out we thank you.
This year certainly tested us out. From personal tragedy to on field success we have had it all.
And yes we have come out of all this adversity with a sense of pride that cannot – and will not – be matched anywhere else.
