GROUP 11 is in talks with the Manly Sea Eagles to bring a NSW Cup match to Apex Oval and possibly an NRL game in 2014.
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The matter was one of many discussed at the group's annual general meeting on Sunday, with officials to speak to the northern Sydney club in coming weeks.
Part of the new Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) charter is to take the game to bush fans, and with Parramatta set to meet St George-Illawarra at Mudgee next season, Dubbo has quickly emerged as a likely location for Manly the following season.
Group 11 president Ross McDermott, who was re-elected at the annual meeting, said talks with the Sea Eagles have been positive.
“We have another meeting with them in a couple of weeks, and at this stage we are looking at the possibility of them bringing a NSW Cup game to Apex next year,” McDermott said.
“Obviously part of the discussions in relation to that will be to do with bringing a full-on NRL game. We’d like an assurance that if the NSW Cup game goes well that we will get first shot at bringing one of their NRL games to Dubbo as well.
“If we can host a game like that every couple of years, the money we make from it goes a long way to helping every club in the competition cover costs like insurance and the like.”
In other news to arise from the annual meeting, Narromine’s Steve Sambrook replaced Wellington’s Trent McQuillan as a senior selector for the Group 11 representative side while the 2013 junior selection panel will be made up of Marty Nelson, Phil Carney, Jim Kelly, Dennis Moran and a representative from the Woodbridge Cup, who are affiliated with Group 11.
The judiciary panel remains the same as it was this season, however secretary Bob Walsh indicated the process, which saw a points scale used for the first time, may be tinkered with slightly.
“This year was the first time we used that system so we will look at it and ways that might improve it going in to next year,” Walsh said.
“Overall it was a good meeting, every club was represented at the meeting and had their say.
“Even though it is the off-season on the field, off the field things are still busy and we have a lot of things we want to try and have in place by the time 2013 rolls around.”
A draw for next season hasn’t been drafted at this stage, however it appears as though the competition will begin at its usual starting time of late April, with the inaugural Indigenous All-Stars game, which had to be cancelled this year, firmly back on the agenda.
