Rugby Pathways
with Raiders
Rugby is a great game and Seaforth Raiders take pride in engaging and developing pathways for girls and boys to experience rugby locally.
PATHWAYS FROM AGES 4 TO 18
We welcome boys and girls to join Raiders from 4 year old to 18 year olds.
Our competitions run from late March to August each season.
U6 Minis
The entry point is our Mini’s Rugby progam for age groups Under 6 and 7 played on Saturday mornings across the Northern Beaches. These age groups create a safe and fun way for boys and girls to learn more about the basics of the game. Through Under 6s we focus on learning to pass, run and enjoy with two-handed tags as foundational skills. There is no tackling in Under 6s. We follow the Rugby Australia pathway rules.
u7 Minis
In Under 7s we start the season with the same skills reinforced as Under 6s, and leading up to the last month of the season we transition children safely into tackle with practice at training followed by games against other Manly Village clubs in the last month of the Under 7 season.
u8-U9 Minis
At Under 8s girls have a choice – boys continue in the Mini’s competition for Under 8 and Under 9s, whilst girls have a new dedicated Northern Beaches-based competition or they can continue with the boys (girls are eligible to play in the boy’s competitions until 12 years old).
Boys continue to play in the Northern Beaches Mini’s competition with a progression of rules in Under 8s and Under 9s following the Rugby Australia pathway rules and continuing to play on the Northern Beaches against Manly Village and Warringah Village clubs.
Girls Rugby
There are three competition options available for girls aged from Under 11s (turning 11 during the competition year) to Under 17s & Opens. In certain circumstances, Under 9 and Under 10 girls may be assessed as capable to play in the Under 11’s older age groups. A great way for younger players who are not comfortable play up in age group is to join the “Minis” competition.
The competitions are in the format of 10-aside (as a proxy for the traditional larger VX’s game) or 7-aside (7’s is generally a faster paced game).
U10-U12 Juniors
Once boys are eligible for Under 10s, we join the Sydney Junior Rugby Union competition. Junior Rugby has Sydney-wide competitions that are graded (A to G). Grading is important because it means kids of similar ability are graded to play against one another maximising safety and enjoyment. Sydney Juniors also have a weight for age policy, which means boys that are over (or under) the height and weight thresholds are assessed for safety reasons.
Raiders field multiple teams per age group across Under 10, Under 11 and Under 12 competitions.
U13-u18
Manly savers
From Under 13s our playing numbers across the Manly District traditionally get lower as boys head off to high school and many commit to school rugby. This means providing the safety and enjoyment of grading into similar ability is difficult for individual clubs.
From the U13s through to the U18 (Opens) the Manly Village clubs of Harbord, Manly Roos, Allambie Jets and Seaforth Raiders come together to feed into Manly Savers. Boys are again graded (A to G) and play with boys from across the district in composite teams that once again maximise safety and enjoyment.
This concept has been tried and tested over many years and sees boys train locally.
Registration for Under 13s to Opens in the Sydney Junior Rugby Competition is available on the registration page and choose Junior XVs as the game option.
