NSW Rugby League confident of more support for bush footy clubs in 2023

It's been another difficult month for country footy sides and on the local scene the Cowra Magpies confirmed earlier this week they won't have the numbers to field a western-wide Peter McDonald Premiership (PMP) first grade side in 2023.

This comes after prominent Wagga club Brothers bowed out of the Riverina-based Group 9 first grade competition following a number of player departures while further north the Manilla Tigers - based just outside of Tamworth - announced they didn't have the numbers for a team in Group 4's top grade this season.

NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) director Bob Walsh, also the president of Group 11, said plenty of community work has been done to support clubs and hard-working volunteers but added more involvement was expected this season.

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The NSWRL has had difficulties of its own in recent years, headlined by an ultimately successful court battle with the ARLC over board elections, while Walsh stated the budget for this season is yet to be approved.

That is, somewhat understandably, due to the ARLC's focus on the ongoing NRL player pay dispute which led to clubs boycotting the 2023 season launch last month.

The NSWRL did confirm in February a new board was now in place, with Walsh one of five members alongside new chairman and former NRL judiciary head Paul Conlon and deputy chair John Anderson OAM.

With a board in place and the hope financial issues can be sorted sooner rather than later, Walsh said clubs and volunteers will benefit from the clarity.

"Most certainly," he said.

"We've got to get back on talking terms with the ARLC and I think the board we've got now will do that.

"We've got some highly qualified people there and it's for the betterment of NSW Rugby League and I think we're going in the right direction."

The new NSWRL board is also set to spend more time in regional areas this year.

The first meeting of the new-look group will be later this month and the plan is to have three of the other meetings planned for this year in regional areas.

They will be based around major rugby league events in country centres, with Walsh saying that decision means the board won't just be spending money on travel back and forth from regionals areas for no real reason.

Having the meetings at prominent events will also mean the board members, particularly those who hail from the city, will be able to spend time with club officials and volunteers from country areas.

"They can meet some of those volunteers who put so much of their time into keeping our game going," Walsh said.

"We're trying our hardest to support and we have been supporting."

Those comments come after bush footy product, premiership winner and Australian representative Laurie Daley called for more support for the grassroots level last week.

Daley was back home at Junee for the Pie in the Sky event which was supporting the town's rugby league club, the Diesels.

The club is one of the many which has struggled for numbers in recent years but has announced it will be back in the Group 9 first grade this season after it was removed from the competition after forfeiting the first two rounds of the 2022 season.

"You also need help from the NRL, you need help from New South Wales Rugby League and not just have that money going to the top end," Daley said at Junee.

"You've got to have it flowing through at the grassroots level.

"I'm sure everyone's working on a plan but again, for me, rugby league is my passion, I want to see these rugby league clubs thrive and we've got to do as much as we possibly can."

Walsh pointed to NSWRL's community work as proof of its care and commitment to regional areas.

Last year the NSWRL announced a flood relief package worth more than $600,000, mainly for the northern rivers region, while in more recent times rugby league great Brad Fittler visited a host of regional areas as part of his latest Hogs tour.

Fittler and the likes of Craig Wing and Kylie Hilder stopped at Dubbo during the two-week tour while the group also helped promote registrations for the struggling Walgett Dragons junior club during the trip.

In terms of the clubs which are struggling for numbers, many are dealing with issues bigger than rugby league.

Cowra Magpies president Mark McLeish stated his town didn't have the residential and employment options available to recruit players.

As one of the smaller centres in the PMP, Cowra relies on signings from out of town much of the time and McLeish said his club now "just can't attract anyone to play footy for us when they're going to be paid minimum wage and paying maximum rent".

Cowra has signalled its intention to drop to a second grade competition from next season, with the Woodbridge Cup a potential new home.

The decision to change competition has proved successful for other clubs in recent times and Walsh pointed to Narromine's success since moving from Group 11 to the Castlereagh League as an example of how these decisions can prove ultimately the best solution.

Crowds flocked back to Cale Oval to support the Jets last season while the club's first grade and league tag side made the finals.

Given it is his hometown club, Walsh was proud to see success stories like that and while admitting there are challenges for clubs at all levels he was adamant the assistance would remain.

"We just keep doing what we can do and support the clubs in the bush and all our volunteers who work so hard for our game," he said.

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