Whangarei's Hora Hora Rugby and Sports Club is entering the new year - its 90th - with a new direction, adding rugby league to its roster of sports.
Hora Hora Rugby and Sports Club president Peter Bennett said 2012 promises to be another exciting year for the club, which saw its senior and senior reserve men's teams reach the semifinals of their competition last year while the senior women's team won their rugby comp.
"Not only is it our 90th Jubilee year, it is also the year that we expand into another sport. Joining our rugby, netball, soccer and hockey codes this year will be rugby league, with the formation of the Hora Hora Broncos as an additional code for our children as well as adults to participate and support," Bennett said.
"Hora Hora has always had a proud family tradition of providing our children with team environments and good community values and this has always been, and will always be, one of our main goals."
He said in the past the club had seen players switch codes from rugby to league and vice versa.
"Now they will still be able to wear the Hora Hora colours. Players such as Greg Flower, Trevor White, Raki Harding and many more transferred their rugby skills to league and became Northland legends and we also had Jason Hita return from league to form one of the most potent rugby mid-field pairings with Stormin' Norm Berryman for Hora Hora and the mighty Taniwha," Bennett said.
"We have lived, worked and socialised with our league brothers for as long as I can remember and I am extremely excited about what they can bring to the club this year and for many years to come. The joining of these codes may well have been frowned upon, from both sides, not so long ago and may create the odd turning in graves but times are changing and we will definitely move forward and upward."
Hora Hora secretary/treasurer Willie Masters said the club would set up under-7, under-9 and senior teams, but hoped to get enough players to set up full junior teams under-11s, under-13s, under-15s, and under-17s.
Masters said the move was partly due to the increased interest in league in Northland and nationally in the past few years, with latest figures showing about a 45 per cent increase in players in Northland alone.
He said with league games played on Sundays and rugby matches on Saturdays, there was the opportunity for people to play both codes in the same weekend.
Marsters said he would have to check if a rugby player registered with another club could play league for Hora Hora.
"We want to be open to anybody who wants to play league, not just those from Hora Hora," he said.
The strip the new teams will wear has yet to finalised, but it will be the traditional Hora Hora colours of maroon and yellow, with white.
The league season kicks off in March and anybody keen on joining the Hora Hora Broncos teams can contact hhbrlc@hotmail.com.