Dubbo CYMS chairman Kevin Walkom hasn’t entertained the idea of his club taking part in Group 11 in 2017 and remains confident the Fishies will be lining up in Group 10 next season.
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Walkom and fellow representatives from CYMS put forward their proposal to Group 10 at the competition’s board meeting on Wednesday and that was followed up by a meeting with Country Rugby League (CRL) chief executive Terry Quinn and CRL Football Operations Manager Bert Lowrie on Thursday.
Walkom said both were “positive” and added he had been told the proposal was to be discussed at the CRL annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday afternoon.
The meeting with the CRL was brought about after Quinn said on Mudgee the Fishies should “stick for the moment” and play Group 11 again in 2017, with the CYMS board wanting clarification on the matter.
“I think they’ve had some time to think about what we’re proposing and it was all very positive,” Walkom said of his time with Quinn and Lowrie.
“It’s all contrary to the article where Terry Quinn said a definite no, there’s been a change of mindset.”
Walkom added he and his club had not received a definite yes or no from Group 10 on Wednesday evening, with the board there studying the proposal and waiting the outcome of the CRL AGM.
“We were aware going in we were not going to get a decision on that but we went to meet and discuss the proposal and some of the logistics around it, which we did and the meeting went for over an hour,” he said.
The mood following the Group 10 meeting was “quietly optimistic”, according to Walkom, who said it was now a waiting game for his club, as the CRL discussed the matter.
Group 10 chairman Linore Zamparini didn’t give a definitive yes or no in regards to the matter on Thursday, saying "we’ve got to look at what will be for the best for the game in our region as a whole”.