THEY'RE BACK: Hogs champions to lead Helensvale’s first-grade return to Gold Coast District Rugby Union

The journey from rugby ruin to renaissance is almost complete for Helensvale who are on the cusp of returning to the city’s top senior competition. Here is how a team who ousted its president and dropped out of first grade reinvigorated itself.

THE journey from rugby ruin to renaissance is almost complete for Helensvale who are on the cusp of returning to the city’s top senior competition.

The Hogs are plotting a path back to the Gold Coast District Rugby Union first-grade competition on the back of the return of a quartet of Helensvale royalty whose “hearts bleed blue.”

Spearheaded by returning premiership coach Taione Vea, assistants Pierre Hola and Chad Maxwell and manager Brad McEldowney, last year’s runners up will feature in the Phil Temperton Trophy again come 2023, after not putting forward a line up for this season.

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It is a huge boost to a club that was in turmoil at the start of the season when the then-president Karl Wernham was ousted from his position by the committee amid a mass walkout of players and replaced by Tegan Pratt.

The lack of numbers forced the Hogs to withdraw from first grade along with Palm Beach Currumbin who also lacked numbers, including tight-head props capable of competing safely and effectively in contested scrums.

Coomera followed shortly after the opening round, reducing the Glitter Strip’s premier rugby outlet to five outfits.

After a season in the wilderness, the Hogs will re-enter with a desire to inspire a new generation of Wallabies through the club, while restoring the competition back to its glory.

Vea said it felt as though he had never left the club, given he still has a son and nephews he watches in the Hogs lower ranks each week, and he was determined to return and provide an avenue for the Helensvale junior base to be fostered towards rugby’s plateaus.

“I think Hogs have developed quite a big junior system and the last thing you want is to not have seniors,” he said.

“At the end of the day we want players to grow up on the Gold Coast and thrive through the senior system we can provide on the Gold Coast. We want teams to be there in the senior competition to continue to develop and grow and build.

“If anything, I think Hogs have always had a thing of wanting to produce Wallabies players, and that should be a goal for the Gold Coast in general.

“The more teams the stronger it will be and the more we can provide our juniors. At the end of the day we all have kids coming through the system and we want them to enjoy footy until a ripe old age, so it’s important we continue to grow and develop.

“I hear people wanting to try Brisbane but in our backyard there’s so much talent; we have to create these pathways.”

GCDRU Grand Final

Filling a team capable of contending in first-grade once again will come from a combination of elevating those who have remained at Helensvale in the second tier competition, while Vae is also hopeful those who have left the Hogs ranks may rejoin the ranks.

When Vae left the blue army, temporarily assisting at Surfers Paradise Dolphins before taking a step back, several players came in tow, while others have lined up for Nerang.

However irrespective of who takes the field, Vea is not expecting the need for a rebuilding phase for the 2019 champions and 2021 runners up.

With the Hogs second and third grade sides finishing the regular season in first and second respectively, he said combining their efforts with the young talent coming through would enable them to pick up where they left upon his departure.

Helensvale 2021 grand final winger Logan Watene has been playing for Nerang in 2022. Pic Mike Batterham

“For us I feel like we’re happy to pick up where we left off, it’s a lot of work but we’re e a lot better prepared,” Vae said.

“The committee at Helensvale Hogs see, to be full of ideas, they’re putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes to make things happen.

“They’re already starting to put things in place to really help the club thrive, and when clubs thrive on the Gold Coast rugby in general will thrive.

“I think we’ll definitely be looking to elevate our current seconds, and also all the young players who have been around playing at other clubs on the Gold Coast.

“I think the main goal is pick up where we left off and we’ll be more than capable to compete at this level at the top.”