Milestone Men
Two club legends will go head-to-head this weekend at Burwood Park, as Shirley and Belfast celebrate two of their own who have given their all for their clubs. Shirley’s Phil Watson and Belfast’s Luke Waller will have a lot to play for on Saturday, playing their 300th and 200th Premier games respectively.
For Phil, his 300th game brings with it a weekend of celebration for the time and dedication that he has spent at Burwood Park for just short of two decades, with a number of people and the club providing the base for a stellar club career 19 years on from his debut against New Brighton in 2003.
“I remember I was 18 years old and my first Premier game was against a strong New Brighton side at Burwood Park. It was a tough first game, we lost by about 50 and the Brighton boys went on a bit of a role.” Watson said.
“Since then, there’s been some tough years but the club has always backed us. We’ve always been able to build a great culture and the club has always been really supportive of us both on and off the field. Having people like Deane Lutton around during my time here at Shirley has taught me so much.” said Watson.
“There’s been lots of standout moments of the last 19, 20 years, there’s a lot of little things that you treasure. One of the moments I do remember was our 2019 run, we played really well and made the semifinals, losing to Lincoln University by 3 points. So while it was a bittersweet ending, it was a memorable time to be a part of the club.”
Alongside the Shirley W’s celebrating their half centenary, it means it will be a big Saturday night at Burwood. “It’s going to be quite busy which is a good thing! For me, it’s really cool to bring up these milestones but I just want to have a beer with my mates and enjoy the night.” said Watson.
For Luke, this weekend’s 200th game is just reward for the proud club man, who has played for the Cobras since he was 4 years old.
“I started out as a 4 year old in my older brothers team, probably not that interested in the rugby side, but have played pretty much every year for Belfast since then, so that’s about 29 years in the green and gold.” said Waller.
While he can’t remember his Premier debut, his Division 2 debut sticks out as his earliest senior memory, “My first Div 2 game against Christchurch, I got a hospital pass and got the wind taken out of me and told to go back to colts.”
It wasn’t enough to put Waller off, who has played across the back of the scrum in his 199 games so far. “I love competing and testing myself, and now I have got to the point where I want to help the club keep pushing and developing.”
“For my 100th game against University, we hadn’t won all year but we managed to win then. I lost my 50th and 150th games, so hopefully we can get the win this weekend.”