Merewether Carlton flying the Eight logo high

Rugby. We live and breathe it.  

Here at Eight, everyone knows that we bleed green. So much so that we sponsor teams from the Greenie Gromets right up to 1st grade. But seeing the red logo around the sides of the field and on the jerseys isn’t enough, so it’s not uncommon to see Nadene and Steve on the sidelines, whether their 3 kids are playing or not (Bonus points if Nads has a chardy in hand).  

Recently the Greens took a team of 14-year-olds across the ditch to face their first international team. And didn’t they perform well. Heading to a country where rugby is practised like a religion there were a few nerves, but the boys stepped up and won 3 out of the 4 of their games. The comradery among the teams (both Aussie and Kiwi) was beautiful to see and although it wasn’t the Bledisloe Cup the boys played like there were in the green and gold, making everyone at home proud. It was also a family affair and the whole Barretto clan was there in forces to cheer Ben and the team on.  

And then just a week after getting home, it was back into the green room for the Anzac Day matches against the Wanderers Rugby Club. The Anzac Day matches are always a highlight in the Greens calendar, but it wasn’t just a day for rugby, rivalry, food and drinks, it was ultimately a day for community spirit and paying our respects to those who fought for our country. 

It’s days like these that we at Eight burst with pride about the Greens Rugby club and just how much of a supportive and passionate community it is. Although they’re fierce rivals on the pitch, it was heartwarming to see a lot of old-school green jerseys wearers sharing a beer (or five) with a lot of old-school blues past players. This is exactly what community is all about. The annual Adams-Halter Anzac shield match is always great to see and the quality of rugby on both sides was top-notch (especially as the Greens took out most of the matches).  

 A special mention also goes out to our very own Ava Barretto who made her debut in the women's grade and played some great footy. Being only 17 years old it’s a big deal to play in the open grade and she certainly flew the Barretto flag high.  

And to think that the footy season has just started here’s to the rest of the season.