Incoming Bathurst St Pat's president Graeme Ward says player payments across Country Rugby League are "getting out of hand" and his club plans to reel it in this season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The blue and whites will adopt an across-the-board measure to paying its playing roster in 2020 in a bid to return to the Group 10 finals next season.
Ward was voted in as president at the club's annual general meeting on Sunday and says addressing the club's payment method was one of his first points of business.
He said the change, which he encouraged small-town clubs to adopt as well to ensure their longevity, was designed to help ensure "our performance in 2020 will be a lot better than our performance in 2019".
"We've changed our payment structure this year ... all players are pretty much on the same money," Ward said.
We probably went over and above this year, without much success.
- New St Pat's president Graeme Ward on his club's spending in 2019
"We just see the money in country rugby league getting out of hand so we're setting up a platform that clubs in smaller towns, if they can adopt the same principles, can even the load a little bit.
"We have a win and draw payment but a minimum pay for a loss."
FOOTY PLAYERS ON THE MOVE: All the Group 10 and Group 11 signings ahead of the 2020 season
The idea to change the payment structure has been in the works since the middle of this year's season, where things started to take a turn for the worse.
"We probably went over and above this year, without much success, and we had players leave before the competition started," Ward said.
"Then the biggest loss was Zac Merritt with a broken leg. It took a long time to get the boys back together."
The tightening of their belt at St Pat's comes after the Cowra Magpies expressed similar concerns about the level of spending at their club in 2019.
Ward steps into the top job he last held in 2016, with David Chapman's three-year tenure as president coming to an end.
Gary Goldsmith reprises his role as secretary while husband and wife Michael and Noelene Mashman fill the treasurer and registrar positions respectively.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...