Casuarina Cougars having a ball thanks to Friends of Rugby

TO coin a phrase, young Carson Hall and Riley Lewis were having a ball at Rugby Park, Marrara.

Riley Lewis, 8, testing out new junior rugby union balls presented to his club Casuarina

TO coin a phrase, young Carson Hall and Riley Lewis were having a ball at Rugby Park, Marrara.

The Casuarina Cougars juniors joined in the fun as 120 balls were presented to the local junior rugby competition by the Friends of Rugby in the Northern Territory.

Tom Berkley, the chairman of the Friends of Rugby for the past five years, explained that the organisation was all about enjoying the sport.

“To enjoy rugby it is absolutely essential that you have rugby to play,” Berkley said.

“We try to support the NTRU and in particular the junior clubs. “So what we are doing is handing out some smaller-sized footballs. We do it every year.”

Money for philanthropic gestures such as this comes from fundraising with the major event being the Friends of Rugby’s Longest Lunch in the World, held in May. “It’s the greatest sporting lunch in Darwin and it is out of the profits of that that we get our main operating expenses,” Berkley said.

The Friends of Rugby are not just about helping juniors, they are also benefactors to senior clubs such as Swampdogs, who make their return to first grade this season.

“It is going to be tough for the Swampies because they are back in the A grade but they did well last season in B grade,” he said. “They will do well. I don’t think they are going to be anybody’s whipping boys.”

And as for the 2014 premiers, Berkley does not think you can go past the Cougars to score back-to-back wins.