Half a decade of the Mick “Whale” Curry Sevens tournament has come up quickly on the Hamilton Hawks, but it hasn’t stopped the club from constantly looking for new ways to adapt, expand and improve.
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It’s the perfect time for Rugby Sevens competitions as well, after the success of the Sydney format and the victory of the Australian International team.
At least, that’s what Hawks coach Scott Coleman is focusing on for the tournament’s fifth entry.
“We have a bumper field coming in this year, and we’ve moved to mainly club sides to make it more of a talent tournament than a fielding ground for international selection teams,” Coleman said.
“Outside of that, ten teams in the top class for the men, and for the women has been a great response. We’ve also added 16 country teams into the Country division and we have seven under 19 squads for that division too.
“That means we’ll be starting off on Friday night for the juniors, and that’s mostly local sides entering into that. We’re just looking at getting it bigger and bigger each year and we seem to be on course for that.”
The tournament, hosted at St John Oval in Charlestown, will have ten premier division teams playing from across the state and national leagues, while local clubs will be competing for the country title.
Hamilton have two teams in the Country division, which also features Maitland, Nelson Bay and Southern Beaches, and there will be up to $11,000 up for grabs in that sevens grade.
Shute Shield premiers Warringah will be favourites in the Premier Division which includes fellow Sydney clubs West Harbour, Gordon, Easts and the Malaysian national side, who are also playing in next weekend’s Lake Macquarie event as preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
The Hawks were runner-up to Manly in the inaugural year in 2015 and have won the Country title in the past two installments. Each year they have gone on to win the NHRU premiership.
Hamilton have also formed an alliance with Kiama Sevens (February 24). If the same team wins both tournaments they receive a $5,000 bonus.
The country final is set down for 5.40pm with the premiere finale at 6.20pm.