Barnstoneworth United to take more time to make final call on 2024 WPL season

Last year's grand finalists Barnstoneworth United was the only club to not nominate by the November 1 deadline.

WPL competition manager Peter Mitchell said he was informed the club was struggling with numbers and a coach.

"The team they had last year, most of them have left," he said.

Mitchell believed the coach indicated he won't be back in 2024, which may have led to a drop-off in numbers.

It doesn't necessarily mean Barnies are out of the WPL - it seems they can still nominate at a later date.

The club will run a WPL sign-on day on Sunday, November 26, to get a better gauge on the numbers they will have, before making a final call in the new year.

If Barnies weren't to play in 2024, it would mean the powerhouse Orange club went from losing a grand final in the final minutes to having no WPL team in just a matter of months.

Mitchell said he and Jim Auld, the chair of Western NSW Football, will be working on a draw in the coming months, hoping to release it by January.

Mitchell indicated that each team would play each other three times for a total of 18 games across 21 rounds.

If Barnies were to nominate late, they would simply slot into the vacant bye spot in the draw.

The finals format remains unconfirmed at this stage.

The seven teams that have nominated are reigning champions Bathurst 75, Panorama, Dubbo Bulls, Macquarie United, Orana Spurs, Orange Waratahs and Parkes Cobras, who all played in the 2023 WPL season.

Bathurst 75 is the most successful WPL club, when including both the 1994-2012 and post 2020 records, having won a seventh grand final in September, when Jack Press scored a late goal at Proctor Park to seal a thrilling 2-1 win over Barnies.

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