THREE current players have been named in Old Bar Pirates Rugby League Club's best-ever side of the past 30 years.
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They are forwards Shannon Martin and Jared Wooster, who has been selected on the bench, and centre Steve Sansom.
The squad was to be announced in conjunction with Old Bar's game against Wingham at Old Bar on July 24, but this was postponed to the game against Taree City on August 21 due to the introduction of strict COVID-19 regulations. However, this game also didn't go ahead after the State went into lockdown.
Old Bar's first full season was in 1991 when the club was involved in the Wauchope-based Hastings League. From there the Pirates played one season in the then Group Three Saturday League, winning the premiership in 1994, before moving into the revamped Group Three competition in 1995.
The best-ever side was selected by the club's life members.
It is: Mick Earley; Paul MacLennan, Steve Sansom, Ken Kerr, Michael Mercy; Matt Mitchell, Lee Hinton; Shannon Martin, Darrin Dark, John Jones, Shane Rutledge, Grant Wells, Andrew Wilkes. Bench: Nathan Berry, Daniel Harris, Jared Wooster and Col Lucas.
Jake Wilkes and Stuart Witchard were named as 18th and 19th players.
There was a criteria to the selections, one being that players must have turned out in senior grades for the Pirates for two seasons. This ruled out centre Ben Harris, who played first grade in 2000 when aged just 15 before heading to Canterbury Bankstown, where he was a member of the 2004 premiership winning side.
Boyd Cordner was also an Old Bar junior, but didn't play senior grades with the club.
Old Bar won first grade premierships in 1994 (Saturday League), 1996 and 1999. Earley, Hinton and Dark were members of all three teams. Hinton, Dark, Berry and Lucas have either captain-coached or coached Old Bar first grade teams.
Meanwhile Old Bar remains the only southern side in contention for the first grade premiership this year. Group Three is planning to resume the competition with four sides playing in a two week semi-final series.
Old Bar will meet Port Sharks in one game, with Wauchope to play Port City in the other on the weekend of September 18 and 19. The two winning sides will then clash in the grand final on Sunday, September 26.
The Pirates were in third place when the competition was halted due to the State-wide lockdown on Saturday August 14.
Port Sharks were second and Port City fourth.
Wauchope are the minor premiers and will be declared premiers is no more football is possible this year.
