Captain's Blog no. 1

What a week!! Firstly being announced as captain for the forthcoming season, then the revealing of my Grogg aka the ‘Diddy Dico’ and to round it all off retaining our crown at the Abercynon sevens in dramatic fashion against the “old enemy”!

First of all I would like to thank all the supporters who have wished me well and congratulated me on becoming club captain. It is a huge honour and a privilege to captain a club with such a great history and tradition. Fingers crossed I can add to the history of the club and lead the team to success this season.

I am fully aware that I have huge boots to fill and it is going to be hard to replace a captain with Strongy’s ability. Strongy was a great leader on the pitch and also a huge character off the pitch. He was someone all the boys respected and a good friend to everyone. Personally I spent many hours traveling from Bridgend to Ponty with Strongy, so I think I’m going to miss him a bit more because my petrol expenses are going to go through the roof! Joking aside - Strongy might be gone but will never be forgotten and I know I only have to pick up the phone and ask for advice and he will be happy to help.

Another huge honour and something that really shocked me was being asked if I would mind having a Grogg made of myself and of course I instantly jumped at the chance. Having a Grogg is something most players can only dream of. I’d like to thank The World of Groggs for providing me with this privilege and I’ve heard it’s a “must have” for all Ponty supporters’ Christmas lists!

Anyway enough about me and more about the squad. Training started back at the end of June with old players and new recruits coming together and really picking up where we left off last season. The new players have fitted in really well and seem to have brought a certain excitement within the camp. I feel we have recruited very well, and if you look at the majority of the new players they are Ponty or ‘Valley boys’ who want to play for the club and will give anything for the badge. This can also be said for the rest of the squad. I would say a large percentage of the team are from Ponty or the surrounding valleys, and the players that aren’t have been with the club for many years. This is important as they instantly, each season, buy into the culture and ethos of the club which gives us our special bond.

There is huge potential in the squad this year and in order for us to achieve our goals we need to bring home some silverware. If you look at the squad you have the experience of players such as Ryan Harford, Wayne O’Connor, Stuart Williams, Gavin Dacey, Dafydd Lockyer and Adam Thomas, mixed in with boys who made an impact in their first season such as Dean Gunter and Darren Waters. As you can see there is a great blend of the so called ‘old heads’ and the ‘young guns’ and this is going to be vital if we want to succeed in all three competitions.

We need to make every game count and not lower our standards against whoever we're playing. On too many occasions in previous seasons we have slipped up and this can’t happen if we want to win the league. We also need a bit of luck with the weather and, fingers crossed, the pitch holds out this season. Last season we were flying high until the rain set in and we went weeks without a game. I know work has been done on the pitch over the summer so hopefully come November/ December it will still be in a decent condition.

Chief, Johnsey, Langers and especially Booly have worked us hard over the last month. This has brought a good team spirit with everyone encouraging and helping each other and I think this was evident last Sunday at the Abercynon 7’s. We went into the tournament as defending champions so the pressure was always to retain the trophy and the ten boys involved didn’t want to let the rest of the squad down. True Ponty spirit was shown in both the semi and the final. In the semi final we knew Rhydyfelin would come at us hard and they didn’t disappoint. In a close game I believe the fitness work we had put in over the previous month won us the game and got us into the final against Cardiff. The final was a very hard fought game with the lead changing hands on a number of occasions. After Cardiff scored their last try I honestly thought we had lost, but in true Ponty fashion and just to keep you supporters on edge we left it to the final seconds to wrap up the victory. Retaining the trophy I think has given us huge confidence going into the pre-season games, which hopefully will be carried over into the season when we run out at Sardis against Cross Keys.

I hope you as supporters continue with your outstanding encouragement and commitment to this club. There will be ups and downs, but I can assure you all that every time we step onto that pitch we give 100% effort and definitely notice your support. You are our 16th man and we are very honoured as a squad to be able to say that we have the best supporters in the Welsh Premiership!

Here’s to the new season!

Chris Dicomidis

4^th August 2010