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It’s ok for you guys from the Championship Clubs such as Curtain bitching you loose players to Prem. Clubs but when your given the opportunity to compete as wanted, you decide that it’s not what we want. You’ll loose a bloody sight more players just entering 2 fourth grade teams.
Actually, word around the traps is that most clubs, including all of last years premier clubs, won't have enough players to field fourth grade teams, some not even enough to field third grade, and three quarters won't have colts.
As of last week, there were only 95 registered players across all clubs.
Anecdotally, most of last year's premier teams have been struggling to get 40 players at training, inclusive of colts.
Of course, registrations will increase over all, and the aberration is probably partially due to the stupid self registration requirement demanded by the ARU (presumably to get their hands on the player fees first), but still.
Fourth grade may end up a 4 or 5 team competition, featuring Curtin, Kwinana Swan, and possibly Coastal Cavaliers, maybe 5 if Southern Lions don't become competitive in a hell of a hurry.
It pays to be careful what you wish for ... because everyone is about to get a dose of something very unpalatable due to the ..... no, I won't go there.
For now.
I understood it the first time.
Reading between the lines from what's been posted, I'd suggest there is a general disenfranchisement due to a combined distaste for everything that remotely relates to Rugby Australia due to the shoddy handling the Force received and distaste towards the new competition shakeup.
Of course what's posted here might be different from the actual boots on ground experience.
C'mon the
Not everything has to do with Rugby Australia and 3/4s of the players probably have no clue of the new structure. Maybe you should head down to your club and actually get some boots on the ground experience.
What news from any trials at the weekend Or weren't there enough players to play them?
I heard Wanneroo played Uni. Any news?
Cool.
I think RWA have to take some of the responsibility for the state of rugby in WA. IMO some of their mistakes:
- insisting premiership clubs have teams in grades 1 - 3 irrespective of whether they can provide competitive teams in those grades
- a disproportionate spreading of Force players
- no promotion/relegation system allowing teams such as Uni to continually win 4th grade creating a non-competitive league
- allowing clubs to have multiple teams in the same grade
- insufficient policing of clubs loading teams, especially during finals
- making it as difficult as possible for some junior clubs to succeed and grow. Wanneroo had to go to great lengths to try and seek promotion, RWA made it as difficult as possible for them
- no policing of poaching players
- not doing enough to encourage rugby in the lower grades. There is now no 6th grade and no grade for older guys to play. You hit 34 you retire now
- turning a blind eye to clubs playing young guys and first graders in the lower grades. Cott 6th grade has some spanner playing fullback for them, I think he was late 30s and had player professionally for North Harbour for 10 years. Is that really good for rugby in this state?
Perhaps you could argue that a lot of those points are not RWA's responsibility? Perhaps they aren't. But ultimately they are responsible for maintaining the health of the sport in WA and they haven't done that. The sport is in a shit state and the easy thing for them to do is apportion the blame elsewhere. A lot of clubs haven't done the right thing either and also have to shoulder some of the blame and that includes Wanneroo, without going into details (for obvious reasons).
Last edited by zed; 12-03-18 at 13:38.