Riverton club in the 1983 Central/Western Competition

The new coach of Riverton Robin Dixon will have a young but big squad of 24 to choose from this season.  Five players have either retired or moved away.  They include Rex Spencer, Mike Hogan, Keith Haslemore and two long serving forwards, Mike Ward and Philip Laurie.

Nine 1982 senior reseve players are included and as six of these are Western junior representatives they appear to have distinct promise. One of these is David Cleaver a Southland Maori Colt of last year and others include Alan McLauchlan, Dave Hill, Gary Cowan, Tom Burns, Grant Brinsdon, Warwick Allen, Lindsay Clark and Shane Jones. 
There will be experience in the form of Damian Forde, Donald Frew, Gavin Burns, Vern Taiaroa (vice captain) Frank Carran (captain) and Ewan Templeton. 
The team will more than likely line up as follows:  Forde at full back, Frew and David Haggerty at wing, Neville Foster, Burns, Taiaroa, Brinsdon, McLauchlan, Steve McGregor, Adrian Wohlers and Cowan completing the backs.  The loose forward will be Burns, Clark, Barry Frew, Hill and Gary Sinclair with Carran marshalling this section.  Barry Turner, David Cleaver and Trevor Cuthbertson will be the locks, Steven McNeill and Warwick Allen will prop and Templeton will be the hooker.