For so long, the bush has given so much to the national competition, developing talented young players just to lose them to the city as they start to reach their peak.

Bringing big matches out the country is an acknowledgement of that and a reward for fans in the area.

Dubbo does as much for the game as anywhere. It is the ‘capital’ of Group 11, has a proud history of producing talented players and also happens to have some of the best facilities.

Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to have counted for much when the host cities for these bush games were decided.

It’s great for Bathurst and Mudgee that they have secured games. It will be a major boost to their economies and their reputations.

However Dubbo residents could be forgiven for asking “why them?”. The answer may be a fairly simple one. Money.

Dubbo has been trying for five years to attract a game to the city. 

It had one chance to prove itself when it hosted City v Country Origin in 2014 and passed with flying colours, attracting almost 10,000 people on a horrible, cold and rainy day.

But despite that, it has missed the boat. Dubbo Regional Council and Group 11 worked hard to try and attract a Manly Sea Eagles game and came close in 2015 before Albury swooped in.

The difference between the two bids was that Dubbo wanted to attract the game without paying money to the Sea Eagles while Albury offered a rumoured $200,000 to get it.

Bathurst also pays between $200,000 and $300,000 a year to Penrith for the privilege of hosting a match.

It remains to be seen if either Mudgee or Tamworth had to offer a financial incentive for the bids and if so, how much they had to pay.

It is also unclear whether there was an opportunity to present a case to host these games or whether they were decided by the NRL.

But it is becoming clear Dubbo will have to do something different if it wants to host an NRL game. That may be money. And if so, it is up to council and ratepayers to decide if it is worth it.