Basking in the delight of their own clubhouse, the members in 1982 embraced the facility with enthusiasm. Other venues of hospitality were neglected as the clubhouse became the place to be after training nights and Friday nights. Card games soon developed and many a player was questioned by those at home as to why training times had been extended by so many hours. This patronage was very beneficial to club finances. However it appears as though the NSW State Government must have got wind of such good times as, in December of 1982, they introduced Random Breath Testing (RBT) which put the brakes on the clubhouse/bar usage. It seemed as though Flinders Rd was an ideal spot to test these new machines. The landline phone in the clubhouse would ring hot with reports of sightings.

In the 1983 season SRFC’s new headquarters at Rugby Park was fully utilised and constructive reasoning was displayed when white shorts were returned to their rightful place as part of the playing strip. And about bloody time! Foster Emery again was President and the Club broke with tradition and elected the first women to the committee, Angela Davies as Treasurer. Perhaps this was the reason for the return to sanity regarding the shorts. Someone should ask. The Club fielded four senior & two junior sides in the Illawarra competition as well as locally conducted Mini-Rugby on Sunday mornings under the guidance of Phil Olsen and others. The playing fields were suffering from being used by six teams for training and playing and serious discussion ensued regarding the establishment of a new “game only” ground to the east of the existing complex. The cricket club had been instrumental in maintaining the grounds over summer. The season was slightly disappointing in some respects although there were a number of fine individual performances in the lower grades. The First Grade side was unrewarded although, under Greg Bishop, the self-effacing coach whose efforts were greatly appreciated, players like John Campbell, Cameron Urquhart, John Miller & Dave Cunningham gave their all.

The Club that year appointed Les Freeman as club trainer & his work was evidenced by the general improved fitness and injury free state of the players. Second Grade was coached both by Carey Reynolds & Jack Howarth during the year, reaching the finals with Peter Bruton, Gary Lancaster & Ian Rae being consistently valuable throughout the year. Third Grade once again proved that interminable experience can be utilized with players such as Neil Lord, Geoff Tracey and coach Ian Perkins joined by younger lads like Gary Mawer & Gavin Urquhart helped the team reach the finals. Fourth Grade, in its first year in Illawarra, was the only Shoalhaven team to win a premiership that year, being declared Joint Premiers after a draw in the grand final. The politically abnormal union of coach Ray Cleary & manager John Ryan steered players of the order of Geoff Wilshire, Gary Hinkley, Lex Bryant and Kevin Robinson to the honours. The U18 side, coached by Steve Sweeney, contested the grand final & the outstanding player from this team, Alan Henry, was chosen in the NSW U18 side.

An inaugural Shoalhaven Schools Sevens was held at Rugby Park with 16 teams competing. The Nowra High School side also won the prestigious Wiburd Shield. The Rugby Union Cricket Club had won the second grade & U16 competitions and in the 1983/4 season fielded 4 senior and 3 junior teams.

A joint coaching system in 1984 was established for First Grade with two former players from other clubs, Bill Eddy (Vikings) & Ray Cleary (Kiama), being appointed. Foster Emery continued as President and the Firsts enjoyed a more successful season, improving its position on the ladder from the previous year. In First Grade winger Ian Rae was one of Illawarra’s leading point scorers. Player strength was up with over 80 active player (excluding juniors) registered. The depth of players was shown by the end of season results with two of the senior teams reaching the finals and both junior sides U16 & U18 winning their competitions. The Second Grade team under captain/coach Alan Young was the most successful of the seniors reaching the grand final. With forwards like Eric Edwards, Neil Hosking, Peter Dun & Paul Butler & supported by backs the calibre of Steve King, Lee Kimball & Bruce Williams, these few named helped form a balanced unit.

Coach John Horton’s Third Grade finalists of 1984 were a similarly well formed side sporting players of note such as Hugh Lamond, Phil King, Mick Sandberg & Mario Cinello forming a regularly consistent side. Both junior teams, U16s & U18s, performed well throughout the year.
That year the Club produced its first Australian Representative when Warren Jarrett was selected in the Australian U17 side to tour New Zealand. Warren went on to become a regular first grader for the Club.

The year of 1985 was the most successful to date in terms of senior rugby with the three grades finishing in the final four with Firsts being second on the table only to be defeated in the final, Seconds were Minor Premiers and Thirds finished in third place. Second Grade went on to win the Grand Final & be undefeated Premiers. The Frank Isaacs coached side were worthy winners with Darren Parrish, Paul Butler, Chris Horton & Bill Brooks being part of a dominant forward pack and were more than ably joined by backs Steve King, Alan Baker, Nick Sverdlof & Steve Fuller. To cap off the year the Club also won its first Illawarra Club Championship by a credible 26 points over Camden. The top positions in the Club remained unchanged with Foster Emery at the helm with the Eddy/Cleary duo first grade coaches. The return of Dave Eddington boosted an already powerful set of forwards including Chris Watts (captain), Johnny Miller, John Campbell & Willie Watt. Peter Gell at No.15 led the backs and was strongly supported by, among others, Alan Calcraft, John Henry, Lee Kimball, Paul Duncan, a young Dean Bagnall and Damien Longhurst. Thirds were coached & led by Geoff Tracey. Cameron Urquhart, Mick Orford, Bob Hansen & Vaughan Baird were part of a determined pack while Phil King, Greg Johnson, Brett Kitely and Alan Henry were part of an impressive backline. The U18s were just beaten in the grand final & contained many future first graders including Lee Maddinson, Matthew Hyam, Peter Adlington, Warren Jarrett & Robert Crawford.
[i][/i]