Representatives from Dubbo CYMS will attend a meeting with Group 10 clubs on Wednesday evening, despite Country Rugby League (CRL) chief executive Terry Quinn saying he won’t allow the club to switch competitions.
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CYMS chairman Kevin Walkom was left with “mixed reactions” following Quinn’s comments at Mudgee, where he said “we’ll follow the lead of the Western Region” in blocking the Fishies’ proposed move from Group 11 to Group 10.
He was pleased CYMS’ proposal has kickstarted the conversation relating to the competition structure in the Western region but he was left disappointed Quinn would so bluntly shut his club down without seeing the proposal for himself.
“Dubbo CYMS has a very clear vision and it appears the CRL are contradictory in the messages they have relayed to CYMS today,” he said, adding his club had followed the guidelines set down in the CRL constitution.
“The CRL adopted a new constitution and nowhere there does it say we need approval from them. It clearly states an application must be lodged with the Group you wish to participate in.”
The CYMS club will attend the Group 10 meeting at Bathurst on Wednesday, with Walkom saying he had received an invitation from the competition’s chairman, Linore Zamparini.
Walkom added he would be seeking to talk with Quinn or representatives from the CRL in the coming days to clear up his own club’s situation and also offer assistance needed in moving forward and the review of competition structure in the western area.
“It’s encouraging to see that it takes the initiative of a club involved in country rugby league, such as Dubbo CYMS, to put forward a proposal that will create healthy debate and discussion in relation to the future of the competition,” he said.
But any discussion looks set to have no effect on the 2017 season, after Quinn said at Mudgee he hoped CYMS would “see common sense” and remain in Group 11 next year.
But Walkom and the CYMS club remain adamant a switch to Group 10 is a smart move.
“We see it as a positive,” Walkom reiterated.
“We acknowledge Group 11 would be reduced by one team however that would allow the other teams to be involved in a competition that is more competitive and by having a more competitive competition that will inspire communities and increase support from local businesses houses for financial support and create ownership from communities.”