Author Archives: Mudchooks Website

Mudchooks: That Familiar Feeling

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Story by: Stewart Wilson

Whoever once said that history never repeats was dead wrong. British historian and biographer Philip Guedalla got it right in 1920 when he noted that history does indeed repeat and the Bungendore Mudchooks rugby team proved it when they defeated the Crookwell Dogs by a single point at home at the Sports Hub on 24 May.

Weeks before, Bungendore played Crookwell away, snatching victory by one in the last couple of minutes thanks to a goal by halfback Tom Worman. This time, Tom kicked a penalty goal in what was the last play of the game to once again give the Mudchooks the  win, under considerable pressure and not helped by the gusty crosswind blowing at the time. Deja Vu all over again!

Apart from the win, it was a big occasion for the Mudchooks on 24 May. The club hosted its annual Sponsors’ Day where the businesses and individuals who support the Mudchooks and Mudchicks are thanked for their dedication to the teams.

Special jerseys were worn by the teams and then auctioned off at the close of play. On the field it was a successful day for both, the Chicks comfortably defeating the Yass Ewes.

There were also a couple of other special occasions to mark: James ‘Butters’ Pryde notched up his 250th game for the club, a remarkable statistic spread over 16 previous seasons plus this one.

The team is now permanently based at the new Bungendore Sports Hub and the field on which it plays was formally named in honour of Mudchooks founding member and past president Garry Cook, the ceremony presided over by mayor Kenrick Winchester.

Apart from his involvement with the Mudchooks – which continues – Garry has made a massive contribution to the Bungendore community over the years through Rotary, the Bendigo Bank and numerous other organisations. He is a former Citizen of the Year and this was a thoroughly deserved honour.

But back to the game of rugby. It was a tough and tight one with lots of to-ing and fro-ing and in the first half especially neither team really seriously threatened to score for most of it.

Penalties were being freely given against both teams resulting in a there being little flow to the game. It remained nil-all until well into the first 40 minutes before Mudchooks captain Cameron Faddy scored following a sustained raid on Crookwell’s line.

So 5-0 at half time and it was the second half that provided the drama. The Mudchooks increased their lead through a converted try to David Cox but the Dogs struck back similarly to make it 12-7 then another try and 12-all.

Mudchooks centre Maloni Tubekitu scored to put his team up 17-12 but a couple of minutes from the end Crookwell went over again and the conversion made it 19-17 in their favour.

The raucous Crookwell supporters started celebrating what they assumed was going to be a win, but we all know the saying “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings” (credited to American sports writer Dan Cook) or to confirm the analogy Cook was using: “until the referee blows his final whistle.”

With literally seconds remaining the Mudchooks were awarded a penalty, within kicking range but difficult nevertheless due to the wind, not to mention the pressure.

As cool as the proverbial cucumber, Tom Worman stepped up and put it over the back dot to make it 20-19. The fat lady then began to sing…..

Still undefeated this season, the Mudchooks remain on top of the table. The team now has two weeks off due to a bye and the June long weekend. Their next game is against Cooma at home at the Sports Hub on Saturday, 14 June.

Player awards and their sponsors for the Crookwell game were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Tom Worman (3 points), Scott Geronimi (2 points), Gerhardus Pretorius (1 point).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Tom Worman.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Tom Worman.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – James Pryde.

Mudchooks Win Again

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Story by Stewart Wilson

The Bungendore Mudchooks rugby team has continued its unbeaten run in 2025 with another high-scoring win, this time a 57-8 victory against the Cooma Alpine Seniors at Cooma on 17 May to keep them on the top of the table.

Until this game, Cooma had also been undefeated so far and were in second place behind the Mudchooks. Considering that, it was perhaps a little surprising that the Mudchooks won so convincingly – most were expecting a much closer tussle.

The Mudchooks led 19-8 at half time and were starting to assert their dominance. They fully displayed their true form in the second half by keeping Cooma scoreless and piling on 38 points of their own.

Cooma actually scored first early in the first half with a try followed by a penalty goal a bit later, but that was their only joy. By then the Chooks had already started to control the game and had taken the lead.

They scored three tries in the first half courtesy centre Gerhardus ‘Geeps’ Pretorius, lock Scott Geronimi and winger Jone Waqa. Halfback Tom Worman kicked two conversions.

Once they got going, the Mudchooks looked very good with all the players – both forwards and backs – working together well. As has been the case in several games this year, some of the backline moves were beautiful to watch running rugby.

The Mudchooks’ six second half tries were scored by centre Maloni Tubekitu and number eight Viliame Taleca (each with a double) and forwards Aiden Shand and Mark Norton. Tom Worman put over four more conversions while Viliame was given the job of attempting to convert the last try just near the end – nearly, but not quite!

The Mudchooks have scored more than 50 points in four games out of five so far this year including one over 60 and two over 70. Impressive statistics which bode well for the rest of the season, but this is sport and nothing can be taken for granted. There is always work to do, improvements to be made.

But so far, so good.    

Next up for the Mudchooks is the Crookwell Dogs at home this Saturday, 24 May, at the Bungendore Sports Hub starting at 2.30pm. Be there to cheer to cheer them on at the club’s annual Sponsors’ Day! A three weeks gap between games follows due to a bye on 31 May and the June long weekend after that when the Provincial Championships are played. Then it’s Cooma again on 14 June, this time at home.

Player awards and their sponsors for the Cooma game were:

Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Scott Geronimi (3 points), Gerhardus Pretorius (2 points), Aiden Shand (1 point).

Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Aiden Shand.

Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Ethan Kruger. Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Maloni Tubekitu.

A Great Day For The Club

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Story by Stewart Wilson

The Bungendore RUFC had a very good day on Saturday with both the
Mudchooks and Mudchicks winning and moving to be within touching
distant of making their grand finals – one more win by either team
will see them in the biggest games of their year.

The Mudchooks were hosted by the Hall Bushrangers in the qualifying
final and came away with a hard-fought 45-29 victory. It was the
Chooks’ fourth win on the trot, the team playing well with things
starting to come together nicely as we reach the business end of the
season.

The Chooks scored six tries including a treble to number 8 Vili Taleca
and indiviual scores to prop Joe Nagaunu, centre Uraia Rabici and
winger Luke Gorman. There has been a palpable sense of the team
‘gelling’ as they should in the last few games. They led 21-10 at
half time.

But the Bushrangers didn’t lie down and scored five tries of their
own and got within a handful of points midway through the second half.
Two tries in the last quarter of the game sealed it for the Chooks.

A big difference between the two sides was their goal kicking in very
windy and difficult conditions. Chooks halfback Tom Worman slotted
seven out of eight including converting all the tries plus a penalty
goal. He judged the wind perfectly from difficult angles “to let it
do the work” as someone noted after the game.

Everyone put in and worked together well. The scrum was dominant as it
has been all season and the backs created some slick moves. Uraia
Rabici’s try in the second half resulted from a beautiful backline
move which was a joy to watch.

The Chooks play the Yass Rams next weekend in the preliminary final,
the winner going into the grand final.

But an unusual and unlucky problem has emerged from the Chooks’ win
over Hall. It earned them the right to play Yass at home at the Mick
Sherd Oval but the date clashes with the Bungendore Tigers’ rugby
league grand final, so an alternative venue needed to be found.

At the time of writing this hadn’t yet been sorted  – we’ll update
you as soon as we know!

Go the Chookies and Chickies!

Mudchooks Tryfest at Cooma

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Story by Stewart Wilson

The Mudchooks notched their biggest win of the season on Saturday,
defeating the Cooma Red Devils 67-17 at Cooma and ensuring their
position in the semi-finals with one round of the regular season to
go. The top six go through.

The Chooks scored 11 tries during the match including doubles to
flanker Vince Hill and fullback Jack Worman while halfback Tom Worman
put half a dozen conversions over the black dot.

The scoring started just a couple of minutes into the game when Vince
Hill went over and continued pretty much unabated for the full 80
minutes. It was 29-5 at half time and a number of the Chooks’ tries
resulted from some slick backline moves which were good to watch.

Probably the only disappointment was that the Redbacks were able to
score three tries of their own including two in the second half and
very much against the run of play.

The win leaves the Mudchooks fifth on the table ahead of the last
match of the regular season this Saturday when they take on the
Taralga Tigers at home at Mick Sherd Oval, starting at 2.30pm.

The Tigers are only three points behind the Mudchooks on the table so
we need to beat them to maintain fifth spot. A move up to fourth is
also possible if the Yass Rams – who are three points ahead of the
Chooks – are beaten by ADFA next weekend.

A long shot perhaps, but you never know…. go the Chookies!

Player awards and their sponsors for the Cooma match were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Joe Nagauna (3 points), Maloni
Tubekitu (2 points), Viliame Taleca (1 point).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Vincent
Hill.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Vincent Hill.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Maloni Tubekitu.

Mudchooks Too Good For ADFA

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Written by Stewart Wilson

The Mudchooks had a good and timely 40-10 away win over the Australian
Defence Force Academy (ADFA) team on 20 July, scoring six tries to two
and moving up a spot to fifth on the table as the finals approach with
two rounds remaining. The top six go through.

The Mudchooks had control of the game for much of it and tries in the
first half to centres Jone Waqa and Maloni Tubekitu plus flyhalf Kyle
Shand – all of which were converted by Tom Worman – established a
21-0 lead at the break.

The ADFA boys fought back with two unconverted tries in the second
half but the Mudchooks were never seriously threatened and added three
more tries through Uraia (‘Woody’) Rabici, winger Luke Gorman and
second rower Kieran Maas. Tom Worman converted two of them to bring
the final score to 40-10.

It was a mostly solid performance by the Mudchooks who once again
showed what they can do when they get properly organised, hold their
shape and don’t push silly, low percentage passes which invariably
result in a loss of possession.

There’s still work to do (especially on passing discipline) but this
is a good and skilled team with a great sense of camaraderie within
it. There is no reason why wins in the remaining rounds can’t be
achieved, moving the Chooks further up the table by the end of the
regular season.

The Mudchooks have a bye next weekend and play Cooma away on 3 August
and Taralga at home on 10 August.

Player awards and their sponsors for the ADFA match were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Maloni Tubekitu (3 points), Jone
Waqa (2 points), Will Smith (1 point).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Vincent
Hill.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Tom Worman and Maloni
Tubekitu.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Maloni Tubekitu.

Mudchooks Fall Short On Sponsors Day

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Story by Stewart Wilson

It is the nature of sport that a team or individual can have a very
good day one week and a disappointing one the next. So it has been for
the Mudchooks rugby team, following  their big win over Crookwell last
week with a 24-12 loss to the Braidwood Redbacks on Saturday.

The game was held at home at the Mick Sherd Oval on one of the
club’s big annual events, Sponsors Day. This year the club is
supporting the Bungendore Hooters for breast cancer research and
following our Charity Day a few weeks ago, Sponsors Day saw jerseys
being auctioned with some vigorous bidding taking a place. A very
worthy cause!

On the field, the Mudchooks couldn’t celebrate fullback Jack
Worman’s milestone 100th game for the club with a victory in what
was a largely scrappy game. Although the Chooks had their chances,
they couldn’t quite capitalise on them. A positive was the scrum,
which was once again dominant as it has been all season.

The Redbacks opened the scoring with a converted try, quickly followed
by a great individual effort by Mudchooks centre Maloni Tubekitu. Tom
Worman’s conversion made it 7-all but Braidwood later crossed again
and converted to make it 14-7 at half time.

That remained the score until well into the second half with neither
team making any great headway until Braidwood scored another converted
try and then a penalty goal to make it 24-7.

Maloni Tubekitu scored another for the Mudchooks shortly before full
time and that’s how it ended – 24-12 in favour of the Redbacks.
The Mudchooks remain in a semi-finals position but are under pressure
with the pointscore very tight around them.

The Mudchooks next play ADFA away on 20 July and then have a bye
before taking on Cooma (away) and Taralga (at home) in the last two
rounds of the regular competition.

Player awards and their sponsors were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Tom Worman (3 points)
Luke Gorman (2 points)
Alex Ganchov (1 point).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Jack
Worman.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Joe Nagauna.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Jack Worman.

Mudchooks Fight Back

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Story by Stewart Wilson

It was a very good day for the club last Saturday with both the
Mudchooks and Chicks notching big wins, the Chooks fighting back after
a couple of losses to defeat the Crookwell Dogs 47-25 at Crookwell
after leading 21-20 at half time.

The team scored seven tries, three in the first half to centres Jone
Waqa and Maloni Tubekitu and winger Uraia Rabici. Halfback and captain
Tom Worman converted all three and he had his kicking radar working
well, slotting six out of seven during the game.

After a tight first half the Mudchooks dominated the second 40 adding
four tries and three conversions to Crookwell’s single try to end up
winning comfortably. Try scorers in the second half were prop Alex
Ganchov, flyhalf Kyle Shand (after a brilliant tactical kick and
chase) and second rower Jacob Cullen who notched a double.

It was a much better performance by the Mudchooks with some slick
backline moves and the forwards doing the hard work in the ‘engine
room’. It wasn’t perfect (what team is over 80 minutes?) but
showed that when the boys get themselves properly organised, hold
their shape and don’t push unnecessary passes, they are capable of
beating anyone.

A good result, but the downside was that only 16 players turned up to
play – including welcoming back club legend James ‘Butters’
Pryde – which meant that only one substitute was available on the
bench. Something that needs to be dealt with as we move into the
business end of the season.

This weekend the Mudchooks play the Redbacks at home in what is one of
the club’s big days – our annual Sponsors’ Day. Don’t miss it
with both the Chooks and Chicks playing!

Player awards and their sponsors for the Crookwell match were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Kalib Maksimovic (3 points),
Kyle Shand (2 points),
Jacob Cullen and Alex Ganchov (1 point each).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Kyle Shand.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Joe Nagauna.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Jacob Cullen.

Tough Day at the Office For Mudchooks

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Story by Stewart Wilson

It was always going to be a tough one for the Mudchooks against the
Jindabyne Bushpigs at Mick Sherd Oval on Saturday, the undefeated
competition leaders well clear on the table. They have racked up 70 or
80 points in several games so far.

And so it proved to be, the Bushpigs defeating the Chooks 24-0 after
leading 12-0 at half time. The Mudchooks’ cause wasn’t helped by
game-ending injuries suffered by two key players, but at the end of
the day the slick and well organised Bushpigs were just too good.

They are a very good team for which the odds are shortening for them
to claim their third successive premiership in 2024.

But let us never forget that any team is beatable so it’s not over
yet!

The result is no disgrace for the Mudchooks who never gave up with
every player giving his all until the final whistle. The fact that
Jindabyne’s score was restricted to a – for them – modest one
speaks for itself and the commitment of our boys against a formidable
opposition is praiseworthy.

The Mudchooks are now fifth on table and still on target for the semis
but there’s a handful of teams within a few points of each other
with six rounds of the regular season to go. The Chooks’ next game
is away against the Crookwell Dogs next Saturday, 6 July, and they are
just one point behind us on the table.

We beat Crookwell 43-14 at home in the opening round, so a repeat
performance would be a great result. Go boys!

Player awards and their sponsors for the Jindabyne match were:
Best and Fairest:
Royal Hotel – Joe Nagauna (3 points),
Alex Ganchov (2 points),
Jack Worman (1 point).
Players’ Player:
Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Alex Ganchov.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Gerhardus Pretorius.
Chicks’ Pick: NV Panel and Paint – Connor Costello.

Mudchooks Come Close

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Story by: Stewart Wilson

To perhaps overuse the contents of the cliché box It was ‘a game of two halves’ and ‘one that got away’ for the Mudchooks against the Yass Rams at Mick Sherd Oval last Saturday, losing 32-29 after holding a decent lead at the break on one of the club’s biggest days of the year – the Ladies’ Day fundraiser.

Following the Mudchicks’ big win earlier in the day, the Chooks were looking to follow that and for the first half of the game things were looking good for a happy result. Even though the Rams scored first, the Bungendore boys quickly got themselves organised and played well with tries to Will Smith, Kyle Shand, Cameron Faddy and Tom Worman in the first 40 minutes.

Tom Worman also kicked three conversions and despite Yass scoring an unconverted try late in the half, the Chooks led a comfortable 26-10 at the break. The only real concern so far was a fairly leavy penalty count against the Mudchooks.

The second half was a different story. The Yass Rams came out of the shed fired up and clearly determined to fight on. And they did, scoring four tries in the last 40 minutes, their efforts helped considerably by a barrage of penalties against the Chooks as the half wore on. Interestingly, the same thing happened in the Chooks’ game against Braidwood earlier in the season with the same referee.

The last ten minutes were tense, the Rams taking over the lead but the Chooks reclaiming it by two points just four minutes from full time through a Tom Worman penalty goal. A somewhat ironic cheer went up from the home crowd when the Mudchooks were actually awarded a penalty!

These were the Mudchooks’ only points of the half and a couple more decisions against the team in the final moments resulted in the Rams gaining field position and scoring again in the last action of the game to make it 32-29.

Despite the narrow loss the Mudchooks remain third on the table and their first half display in this game indicates a team which is coming together well. Next up is an away game against the Hall Bushrangers at Hall Sportsground next Saturday 22 June, starting at 2.30pm.

Player awards and their sponsors for the Yass match were:
Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Kyle Shand (3 points), Tom Worman (2 points), Will Smith (1 point).
Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Tom Worman.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Joe Nagauna.
Chicks’ Pick: MV Panel and Paint – Cameron Faddy.

Mudchooks Win Again!

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The Mudchooks scored a good victory at Mick Sherd Oval last Saturday, defeating the Hall Bushrangers 22-19 in what – in the second half at least – was probably their best performance so far this year.

The game started an hour later than usual due to sharing the day with the Tigers rugby league team and the oval’s floodlights were turned at the start as it was known the game would finish in encroaching darkness. In what was a good day for Bungendore’s rugby teams –  the Mudchicks also won their away game. Two in a row for both our teams!

The Mudchooks continued to suffer from ongoing injuries which limited options and only two substitute players were available on the bench. The return to the team after a year off by flyhalf, director of traffic and goal kicker Tom Worman was a big plus.

With the Mudchooks playing into a strong wind in the first half the team did well to keep the score at 5-all until the last minute of the first half through an early try to Hall, matched later by one to the Chooks’ Jone Waqa.

Unfortunately the Bushrangers scored a converted try right on half time to make it 12-5 to them at the break, not too bad considering the wind, but it’s fair to say the Mudchooks had wasted some opportunities.

Coach Ray Caranese’s talk at half time had the desired effect, the team no longer needlessly kicking away possession or pushing passes which caused promising moves to break down.

The Chooks responded strongly, converted tries to prop Alex Ganchov and centre Maloni Tubekitu plus a penalty goal by Tom Worman took the team into the lead 22-12 as the second half wore on. Another converted try by the Bushrangers made it 22-19 in the game’s tense final minutes but the Mudchooks hung on to win.

Player awards and points for the game were:

Best and Fairest: Royal Hotel – Tom Worman (3 points),
Maloni Tubekitu (2 points),
Alex Ganchov and Kalib Maksimovic (1 point each).

Players’ Player: Mint Air Conditioning and Refrigeration – Tom Worman.
Coach’s Player: Bungendore Community Bank – Tom Worman.
Chicks’ Pick: MV Panel and Paint – Tom Worman.