RUGBY league will take pride of place at Malseed Park tomorrow when the Blue Lake Knights host round six of the Limestone Coast Rugby League season.
The day will also incorporate a mental health round, along with and NRL State of Mind education session tonight at the South Aussie hotel from 7pm.
It will be the first time the NRL has ventured to the city for the “local” competition, with Knights president Brenton Hodge pleased to have their presence over the weekend.
Hodge said with a push for education about men’s mental health in all codes, he was pleased to see it spill over to the Limestone Coast.
“The mental health round provides an important message,” he said.
“I think everyone needs to know how to look after each other and the boys in the club need to get around each other and help out.”
The two South Australian clubs in the competition – the Knights and the Naracoorte Jets – will kick off an annual challenge, with the State of Mind perpetual trophy.
Hodge said it was personal to both clubs, who had been impacted by the issues surrounding mental health.
“We will play off for a perpetual trophy, which will keep the recognition going into the future,” he said.
“It has been absolutely welcomed by the players, with the Victorian clubs happy to participate.
“In each game there will be a State of Mind player of the match medal handed out.
“The State of Mind team from the NRL in Sydney will come down and run the workshop tonight and officiate tomorrow.
“We reached out to the NRL and said we had been impacted here in our own league and they jumped on it straight away.
“It is the first time the NRL has come down here which is really positive for the league.”
The Malseed Park venue has become a welcome home to the Knights, with a good playing surface easily accessible to supporters.
Hodge said the club was growing well, with an influx of new players this season.
“There have been some strong and positive changes around the club,” he said.
“We now have a home ground at Malseed Park, which is a beautiful ground with no cricket pitch in the middle.
“We have a strong committee and a new playing strip, we have increased player membership and as a club we have moved forward.”
On field the results have been mixed for the Knights, with three good wins and two losses from the five rounds to date.
The side sits fourth on the ladder, which Hodge said was a solid start, with four minor rounds still to complete.
“It has been really positive for us,” he said.
“We have had some big losses and big wins, but we also have some new boys who have never played before.
“We have focused hard on team unity and structure and it is all coming together.”
The competition has moved from 11-a-side to the full 13 and expanded to six teams.
Tomorrow will see three men’s games at Malseed Park, along with a women’s game, with players supplied by the Knights and the Bulls.
Hodge said the women take it seriously and the games are entertaining to watch.
As for this week’s clash, the Knights face the reigning premiers, who they went down to in the opening round.
“This week will be a big round for us against the reigning premiers,” Hodge said.
“They beat us the first round, so we will get to gauge where our season is at.
“We hope to come away with a win – you always want to win at home.”
But Hodge also expects a fair bit of emotion surrounding the State of Mind clash.
“I think emotions will be running high,” he said.
“It will be a strong, hard, physical game.
“Overall, people can come to Malseed Park to watch three good men’s games and a women’s game.
“We will have a free jumping castle for the kids provided by the SA NRL.
“It should be a good day at our new home.”
The day will kick off with the Raiders v Panthers clash at 12pm, the women’s game at 1.30pm, the Bulls v Warriors at 2.30pm and the Knights v Jets at 4pm.
