BringBackTorps
Club Legend
- Jan 5, 2017
- 2,963
- 1,827
- AFL Club
- GWS
1.
In this Thread, also in "Sydney 3rd Team Thread", & "What Are Chances Of Footy Overtaking RL in NSW & Qld. Thread" (latter two in Footy Industry Forum), there are c. 25+ quotes (with links) from MSM RL experts & current & former RL Officials & RL players etc. that GR male contact RL is in a significant long term decline in NSW & Qld. This includes NRL Chairmen J. Grant, P. Beattie, NRL CEO T. Greenburg (& A. Abdo & P. V'landys, both by implication).
Female contact RL is having significant growth, off a small base.
Tag & Touch etc. male & female player nos. are not included, as these non-contact games are not RL. P. Kent, G. Alexander, & the Daily Mercury have stated (links in this Thread) that the NRL are deliberately using Tag & Touch, one-off Gala Day, Community Event etc. nos. to artificially inflate the total GR "Rugby League" nos.
Whilst the male contact RL decline may vary slightly from region to region, it is incontrovertible that this decline is occurring all over NSW, ACT, & Qld.
You have nominated 4 adult RL Clubs, some from the 1960's, from western NSW that became extinct- then later were reformed.
How many, approximately, adult RL Clubs have become extinct in Central & Western NSW from 1960 -2020 ie never reformed?
Also, how many came back from extinction, but only by amalgamating with another Club?
Ditto junior RL Clubs?
Can you provide a 2019 estimate how many snr male RL players, who don't normally live in the Central West, were recruited specifically by RL Clubs to move to the Central West, to play RL?
2. This 4.11.19 article states Oberon snr RL Club (probably the most successful RL Club ever in the Central West, & which you nominated as a success) was forced to join a lower Division, due to lack of snr player nos.
RL Group 10 President L. Zamparini also said, re jnr contact RL player nos. in Group 10
"The juniors only go to U10, it's a grassroots thing, everywhere struggles a bit...".
What are the reasons for these declines?
It's a slight overreaction. In some spots maybe it is accurate.[Long term, decline in RL male contact nos. is accurate everywhere in Qld. NSW, & ACT] In Western NSW it isn't. In fact while I wouldn't say that new clubs are springing up out of nowhere, a lot of teams that were basically extinct have made a return.
Just in the three competitions closest to where I live (Group 10, Group 11, Mid-West) a number of sides have either expanded or returned. And the women's competitions have helped that a lot too.
Oberon - the St George of bush footy, won 11 comps in 12 years or something back in the 60s-70s. Didn't have a senior presence a decade ago. Have since returned to Group 10 with 3 grades plus a women's team, made a grand final. Currently playing the Mid-West Cup which is a slightly lower competition than Group 10.
Blayney Bears - Had guys like Kerry Hemsley and Paul Sironen and Jason Darcy (ex NRL players) in the 90s and went broke paying them. Disappeared for 9 years, have been back in senior Group 10 competition for the last 10 years with 3 senior teams plus women.
CSU - My old club. Used to have roughly 25 players playing 2 grades in the NSW Tertiary Rugby League against the other unis. Has switched to the local Mid West Competition and won it several times, depending on numbers year in year out (it's mostly students so the side changes a lot) they either enter two or one team in the Mid West competition, have two women's teams. Have started a loose affiliation with the newest junior club in the area, the Eglinton Eels who came into existence 10 years ago.
Portland - Play in the Mid West competition, were extinct for over a decade before returning 2 years ago
Villages United - a fourth Bathurst team that emerged 12 years ago. Still going, regular Mid West finalists.
Dubbo Westside - the third 'poor cousin' Dubbo club that existed through the 1980s and 90s, died in the late 90s. Re-formed five years ago and now have 3 men's teams and one women's in Group 11 competition.
Forbes Magpies - never died, but went the best part of 25 years without so much as making a grand final. Have recently won 2 Group 11 first grade premierships beating the powerhouse Dubbo CYMS team in both, and now absolutely flying.
A whole host of villages have put together teams in recent years in some of the minor competitions. Peak Hill, Molong, Trundle, Manildra, Grenfell, Eugowra, Cargo, Canowindra, Burrangong - they all have sides in the Woodbridge Cup and their biggest town is Molong at about 2000.
That's just a bare snapshot of the immediate region around where I live.
Yes it is not representative of the entirety of NSW and Queensland but even if you go further west to the absolute outback, Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett, Collarenebri, Cobar, Lightning Ridge, places like that - they are still competing. Mungindi and Newtown (Walgett based club) have both only formed in the last 5 years.
Rumours of the death of bush footy have been fairly exaggerated.
In this Thread, also in "Sydney 3rd Team Thread", & "What Are Chances Of Footy Overtaking RL in NSW & Qld. Thread" (latter two in Footy Industry Forum), there are c. 25+ quotes (with links) from MSM RL experts & current & former RL Officials & RL players etc. that GR male contact RL is in a significant long term decline in NSW & Qld. This includes NRL Chairmen J. Grant, P. Beattie, NRL CEO T. Greenburg (& A. Abdo & P. V'landys, both by implication).
Female contact RL is having significant growth, off a small base.
Tag & Touch etc. male & female player nos. are not included, as these non-contact games are not RL. P. Kent, G. Alexander, & the Daily Mercury have stated (links in this Thread) that the NRL are deliberately using Tag & Touch, one-off Gala Day, Community Event etc. nos. to artificially inflate the total GR "Rugby League" nos.
Whilst the male contact RL decline may vary slightly from region to region, it is incontrovertible that this decline is occurring all over NSW, ACT, & Qld.
You have nominated 4 adult RL Clubs, some from the 1960's, from western NSW that became extinct- then later were reformed.
How many, approximately, adult RL Clubs have become extinct in Central & Western NSW from 1960 -2020 ie never reformed?
Also, how many came back from extinction, but only by amalgamating with another Club?
Ditto junior RL Clubs?
Can you provide a 2019 estimate how many snr male RL players, who don't normally live in the Central West, were recruited specifically by RL Clubs to move to the Central West, to play RL?
2. This 4.11.19 article states Oberon snr RL Club (probably the most successful RL Club ever in the Central West, & which you nominated as a success) was forced to join a lower Division, due to lack of snr player nos.
RL Group 10 President L. Zamparini also said, re jnr contact RL player nos. in Group 10
"The juniors only go to U10, it's a grassroots thing, everywhere struggles a bit...".
Oberon Tigers withdraw from 2020 Group 10 premier league competition
Oberon will not play in the 2020 Group 10 premier league competition.
www.oberonreview.com.au
What are the reasons for these declines?
Last edited: