Country Rugby League chief executive officer Terry Quinn has admitted to be a touch annoyed at Group 10 centres Mudgee and Bathurst both being allocated NRL games for next year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The National Rugby League, in conjunction with the clubs bringing games west, announced the sweeping move last week, with NSW regional towns Bathurst, Mudgee, Tamworth and Gosford all set to stage competition games in 2018.
Rural areas in Queensland also benefit from the announcement, with the Gold Coast Titans taking two games regional next winter.
Both Bathurst (Penrith Panthers) and Mudgee (St George Illawarra) will hold games in 2019, too – Penrith’s deal at Carrington Park extends to 2028, in fact.
And that saturation in the central west doesn’t sit well with Quinn, speaking to the Daily Advertiser after NSW Country hosted the Samoan World Cup squad at Wagga Wagga on Friday night.
“I’m probably a little bit annoyed we didn’t get a bigger say where the games are,” Quinn said.
While pleased to have such a large numbers of games in the country, Quinn hopes to have more control in determining where the fixtures will be played.
He believes having two games in the Central West isn’t the best strategic plan due to their close proximity.
“It is our plan to strategically place the games where we think the most benefit would be,” he said.
“We need games this way and we need games on the South Coast.”
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
