“A Community Club With A Giant Heart”

For nearly sixty years, Hills Bulls has been a name synonymous with the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League. Formed in 1963 by five locals at the Bull & Bush Hotel, it’s grown to be one of the largest junior clubs in Australia, boasting over 5000 members.

It would be easy for a club of this magnitude to just focus on being a local rugby league powerhouse. Instead, the Bulls’ passion for engaging young people in physical activity has seen them offer year round sport, whilst providing much needed support for the local community.

This week, The Cumberland Throw spoke with Bulls President Mick Gremmo and Secretary, Rick Palin, to learn more about a club with a massive heart.

From a football perspective the Bulls have left a significant footprint in Sydney and Australian Rugby League. A host of former players have progressed to NRL, with some going on to play Origin and then for the Kangaroos.

Ron and John often return to visit

The clue to the identity two of the first to achieve Australian honours can be found in the naming of the two fields at Crestwood – the Kolc Field and the Hilditch Field.

John Kolc and Ron Hilditch would be familiar to Eels tragics, with these legends not only playing first grade with Parramatta, but also achieving the heights of pulling on the Green and Gold for the Kangaroos.

That sense of family and belonging so important to the Bulls is exemplified with John Kolc and Ron Hilditch still dropping in to present jerseys and watch matches, and former Eel Daniel Irvine coaching his kids at the club.

Other notable players include Pauli Pauli, David “Wolfman” Williams, Blake Green, Heath L’Estrange, Jamie Buhrer, Josh Curran, Ryan Papenhuyzen, and Luke Keary,

There’s little doubt that the Bulls will continue to produce NRL and probably NRLW players into the future as they currently field teams from under 6 juniors through to senior football, including Ron Massey, Sydney Shield, A Grade and Under 20s. In the upcoming season, they expect registrations to bounce back to pre-Covid levels.

A couple of familiar faces here

Rick Palin explains, “Its obviously been a very difficult couple of years for sport in general. We’re seeing big numbers already registering this year. I think everyone’s really keen for a full season. We are expecting to again field 40 plus teams and probably around 650 players.”

For a local player such as Sean Walpole, being able to graduate from junior to senior football within the same club means clocking up 294 club appearances, from under 6 to Ron Massey Cup. And one of his Ron Massey team mates, Ben Marschke, started the 2021 season with the Bulls, before being called up to play for Norths in the NSW Cup which led to his NRL debut for the Roosters where he played 13 games.

To clarify, the juniors are Parramatta juniors, and qualify for Eels junior representative teams. However the senior teams provide an opportunity for players to continue playing football, and that includes Bulls juniors as well former NRL players such as David Gower, Feleti Mateo, Taniela Lasalo, Tim Robinson, and Heath L’Strange.

But it all starts with the kids.

Juniors in action

Getting junior registrations isn’t restricted to traditional methods of putting up signs or setting up a table at local shopping centres. Initiatives such as mini clinics attract around 60 – 70 kids each year. The youngsters participate in fun activities designed to introduce them to rugby league and this has resulted in increased registrations in the 4 – 8 years age groups.

For players moving into their teenage years, the “Hills Bulls Academy” assists 13 year olds with skill development as they progress towards junior representative years.

In the girls footy space, the Bulls will be fielding an under 14 team in 2022. Given the many girls playing with the club up to the under 12s, and the large numbers involved in under 11, 13, 15 and 17 girls league tag, it’s very exciting for them to have teams to graduate to in their pathway to senior footy.

Girls rugby league is becoming an exciting pathway

With rugby league programs extending from Junior and Senior footy to Masters, League Tag, Touch, Oz Tag and Hills Bulls Cheerleaders, the Bulls have become more than just a rugby league club. Their summer OzTag competition is played five nights a week, sometimes using 12 fields simultaneously from 4pm to 9pm. Over three and half thousand players are involved in OzTag with the Bulls.

Undeniably, as their official name suggests, the Bulls are now a year round sports club with strong links throughout the Hills community. And those connections aren’t just via sport or sponsorships. The club has forged relationships with the local Lions and Rotary Clubs as well as mainstream and special needs schools and organisations in the district.

To that end, the Bulls host various events during the year which deepen those district ties as well as serving as fund raisers for the Bulls or for different charities and organisations. As communities look to bounce out of Covid, such events help people to reconnect.

In 2022, the community can look forward to a golf day on March 18, a sports lunch in August, a Ladies Night, a colour run, Queensland Tours for the Under 13 and Under 15 teams, Coach The Coach sessions, and the aforementioned Mini Clinics and Academies.

According to Mick Gremmo, those Coach the Coach sessions are an important foundation of the club.

“At the end of the day coaches are the conduit between the club, the parents and everyone. That’s something that we’re reinforcing with our coaches every year. We’re not here to coach the next NRL player. We’re here to coach the person and guide them to be better people in life…We’re going to get a lot more better people out of it than we will NRL players.”

Nathan Gremmo

The Nathan Gremmo Memorial Shield is a very special annual day on the Bulls calendar. The Shield commemorates one of the Hills Bulls finest young men who passed away at age 13 after being struck while crossing the road.

It was an unimaginable tragedy for the family, but the donation of his organs saved the lives of six people. Through Nathan’s legacy his family established Jersey Day, and the annual Nathan Gremmo Shield raises awareness for Jersey Day and the importance of organ and tissue donation

The Longhorns is a Bulls initiative that also deserves special mention because it was, as Rick states, born out of the desire to “give back to the community.”

Through this program the Bulls provide support across six pillars – mental health, physical health, minority groups, financial, community and charity.

Via strong sporting, community, and business relationships they raise funds, engage mentors and provide a range of support. Meetings are held monthly at the club’s sheds at Crestwood Reserve where people can come in for a chat, discuss assistance or simply participate in fun activities and sport.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of all clubs

Like all junior sports clubs, volunteers are the lifeblood of the Bulls. Be they board members, coaches, trainers, managers, Oz tag delegates, or canteen staff, they all donate their time to important roles in the club. Many are parents, but some volunteers continue after their children no longer play and there are even those who have never had children involved with the Bulls, and that includes the club photographer.

From a financial perspective, there is no licensed Leagues Club behind the Bulls. The generous annual grant from Parramatta Leagues Club is critical in helping to cover player registration fees, and the amazing support of Matt Brady and his department at the Eels is likewise much appreciated.

As Mick emphasises, “That’s what makes the Parramatta District probably the envy of a lot of other districts around the state and around Australia.”

However, there are other expenses that must be met.

Fortunately the Bulls have a large number of loyal sponsors behind them. These include Griffin Air Conditioning, The Ettamogah, Starr Plumbing, Gremmo Homes, Cook’s Plumbing Supplies, ARG Building Services, Actron Air, and Access Valuations. The full list of Bull’s sponsors can be found here.

Match day at Crestwood

Sponsors enjoy being associated with senior football, particularly the exposure they receive from gear branding and signage with crowds of around 1000 attending matches at Crestwood Reserve. A flow on effect of offering senior footy is that some sponsors extend their involvement to the junior teams.

It’s also a testimony to the value placed on the Bulls’ various programs and initiatives in the community that so many sponsors are behind them. Without those sponsors, such programs would not be possible. An extension of the community clubhouse and gym is currently underway, and it’s being backed by over $200K of In-Kind donations from those businesses.

How did the Hills Bulls become the club that it is today, a club embraced by the Hills district?

For mine, they epitomise what junior rugby league clubs do best. They make themselves more than just football, or more than just a group of individuals. They become the beating heart within the community.

Club Team Player

There is a culture within the Bulls, started by the founders, where everyone strives to make the club the best it can be. They have a mantra of “Club – Team – Player” which drives that desire to give back to the club and the community, and in turn this helps to make the people involved the best that they can be.

Six decades down the track, those five men at the pub can feel rightly proud of the club they founded.

The Bulls welcome anyone who’d like to become involved, be it as a player, a volunteer or a sponsor. If you’d like to know more, you can contact Rick Palin via email on admin@hillsrugbyleague.com.au

You can catch our full chat with Michael and Rick in an upcoming episode of The Tip Sheet podcast.

Eels forever!

Sixties

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.