Foster Emery was again President in 1986 & during the year he had been finalising arrangements to allow construction to commence on the main rugby ground to the east of the existing fields. A Ground Development Committee was to be set up for the following year.

The Club & supporters had well and truly come to embrace their home ground. It was suggested that SRFC was the only club in Illawarra that provided a touch judge decked out in a white uniform for home games. Recently retired player John Reminis took the job seriously. No mater how many times during a game Alan Calcraft (whilst playing) asked “Remo” to find out a race result, “Remo” only occasionally obliged. And that was usually when “Remo” also had an interest in the race.

Bill Eddy & Ray Cleary continued to coach Firsts, Alan Calcraft Seconds, Geoff Tracey/Ian Perkins Thirds with Ian Ferguson in charge of Fourths who regrettably had trouble arranging games. Johnny Miller was selected in the NSW Country side. Chris Watts was elected Club Captain that year & held the position with distinction for many years afterwards.

Juniors comprised U18s coached by Terry Hayes, U16s by Frank Isaac and the new U14 side by Graeme West. Seconds were unlucky to be beaten in the Grand Final after leading the competition all season & Thirds made the semis. Firsts were inconsistent during the year and finished mid field. The Club was 3rd in the Club Championship. The number of registered players continued to grow and the Club had the embarrassing situation of finding it difficult to give all those willing players a game. During the year the Club hosted a game between Southern Province & the Royal Navy team and was awarded the IDRU Major Semi Finals.

Long serving President Foster Emery stood down for the year of 1987 & former First Grade player Greg Horton was elected President.
In his final President’s AGM Report Foster said “I do feel very proud of our Club’s achievements during the eighteen years of rugby. It only seems a short while ago that our Club was formed and at that time we had nothing except two or three keen footballers and a lot of hope.”

The First Grade, coached again by the Eddy/Cleary duo, was comprised mainly of younger players and finished the season in almost the same position as last year. There were some strong individual performances including Johnny Miller, Trevor Dawson, John Campbell and Darren Parrish. Very notable in this side was a young half back, Anthony Okely, who captained NSW U19s that year.
The dream of consecutive premierships diminished for Second Grade that year but they again managed to finish in the top four. Under new coach Bruce Williams, the side played some exciting rugby with Chris Horton, Doug Edwards, Adrian Craft, Brad Clements & David Mackay being prominent. Under the coaching & captaincy of Alan Calcraft, the Third, with such players as Dave Bowden, Tony Elford, Peter Bethe, the rapidly improving Dale Spresser and the pole purling John Horton, were only one place out of the semis.
Fourth Grade was again coached by Ian Ferguson but again suffered from lack of games. Illawarra changed the team age groups that year to fit in with international standards. U19s were coached by Brett Kitely & Greg Johnson, U17s Nick Outerside, U15’s Frank Isaac & U13’s by Graham Cook.
The U15’s won the Premiership and two players, Kim Bice & Seamus O’Donnell, were name Illawarra Player of the Year in their respective age groups. SRFC was the only club in Illawarra to field teams in all age groups. Apart from the U15s premiership the highlight of 1987 was the hosting at Rugby Park of the Australian Schoolboys v Irish Schoolboys match.

Because of unforeseen circumstances little progress was made on the construction of the new main field. The Ladies of the Club had worked tirelessly over the past years in helping organise social events that not only were enjoyed by Club members but also added to the Club’s finances. However it was the Club’s Twentieth Anniversary celebrations in 1988 that their expertise in organisation would really count. And did they deliver!

1988 saw Greg Horton returned as President-club mantra-and Bill Eddy was sole coach of Firsts. Seconds was guided by Bruce Williams and Thirds by Alan Calcraft. Fourths again had the indefatigable Ian Ferguson in charge. The Club suffered through lack of numbers and, in particular, very poor attendances at training but the Third Grade courageously won the Premiership beating Waratahs 6-4 in the decider. It was a formidable team which included amongst others Matt Hyam, Cameron Urquhart, John Horton, Glen Armstrong (sole try scorer in the grand final) & a very young Tim Eddy.

The Club again entered teams in each of the Junior competitions although the U13’s competition folded before a ball was kicked. U19s were coached by Andrew Watts & Trevor Dawson, U17s by Frank Isaac & U15s by Peter Phelps. The U15’s retained the Premiership by beating Waratahs 42-4 in the grand final. Terry Wickey scored 4 tries & 3 tries to Brett Stewart who later played for Australia U17s.

As well as a couple of premierships (see what white shorts can do) the Club commemorated its Twentieth Anniversary with a weekend of celebrations on the June long weekend. On the Friday night an informal gathering “A Few Beer & a Bit of Yarn” was held at the Bridge Hotel-and didn’t it live up to its name! The publican thought all his Christmas’s had come at once.
On the Saturday night after a competition game, a black tie formal Reunion-Winter Ball was held at the Youth Club at the showground and on the Sunday at noon a “Previous Performers” game between teams of lapsed players was held at Rugby Park. There were more than enough players to fill both teams with plentiful reserves for each. Each team was captained by a previous President, being Tim Johnston (Green jumpers) & Greg Horton (Gold). Special jerseys were made & worn. The weekend was an enormous success and brought past Club members form all parts.
Another feature of a busy year for the Club was the hosting of NZ Schools v Australian Schools 2 on 31st August 1988. It is regarded that the Club was awarded this prestigious game because of the way the previous years Irish Schoolboys game had been presented.

Work had progressed on the new ground and it had been cleared of timber. Earthworks were expected to begin shortly.