It’s something which has been proposed and used in the western area in recent seasons but there will be no type of points cap system used in Group 11 in 2019.
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Group 10 has used the system for the past two seasons while Group 11 has trialed it before, but the decision was made in Sunday’s annual general meeting for the system to be scrapped in season 2019.
Returning Group 11 secretary Paul Loxley said the decision was made for the benefit of the smaller centres in the competition while also allowing the best possible players to be on show each week next season.
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The system, when used, sees teams limited to a certain number of points. Players are then assigned a value, with the most given to new recruits from a high level, while club juniors or players who have been with the same side for a certain number of seasons both worth zero.
“You look at a team like CYMS and they’ve had a stacked team but all those players have been there for more than three years so they’re worth zero,” Loxley said, explaining the decision.
“Then there’s teams like Nyngan and Narromine who might not be able to keep their players for as long and they have a higher turnover. Then anyone they get costs points and it really comes at a cost for those teams from the smaller communities.
“This makes it better and I for one would love to see a team like Nyngan go on to make another grand final.
“The argument was made that different teams should have a different number of points but then that all becomes arbitrary too so we’re better off just not having it.”
Nyngan would have been one of the teams most affected next season with the recruitment headlined by Justin Carney, a player who would have been worth the maximum number of points given he played in the English Super League as recently as September of this year.
Loxley described the AGM as a positive one with Derrick Hoe to return as president and Craig Renneberg to remain treasurer.
Loxley and Ross McDermott are joined by board members Darren AhSee of Wellington, Narromine John Sevill, and Macquarie pair Sue Egan and Gavin Board.
Loxley stated the 2019 season is expected to start with the annual Parkes Nines on March 31 while all clubs will then have the chance to organise their own trials in the three weeks before the season proper begins.
The opening round of the competition will be played on the weekend of April 27 and 28. There will again be two general byes during the season.
Other points to come out of the meeting include a renewed focus on player behaviour both on the field and on social media.
“They need to know the importance of our product and the way they behave,” Loxley said.