Bathurst Panthers president Dave Hotham is not keen on four-grade Western competition

This season both under 18 and first grade teams from Group 10 and Group 11 based clubs united to play in Western premierships.

It was a move widely seen as a positive for rugby league in the region and as such, there have been discussions about reserve grade and league tag following suit.

But Hotham sees problems with a four-grade Western approach in 2023.

For league tag in particular, which has already seen clubs unable to play regular fixtures, Hotham feels a move to unite Group 10 and Group 11 is not the best way forward.

He proposes that Group 10 senior league tag sides instead play on Sunday following the Group 10 Junior Rugby League league tag fixtures.

He also wants to see games played every weekend, even if it means the same sides clash on multiple occasions.

"It's hard enough to get the girls to play here because we are competing against so many sports. On a Saturday, that's when a lot clubs like to play, the biggest problem then is we are competing against sports like netball, rugby, AFL and hockey," Hotham explained.

"Then they'd play a game then have three or four weeks off and you'd lose half of them because they didn't think it was worth coming back.

"Like two years ago at the start of the year we had 26 players for league tag, but by the second-last round against Blayney we were forfeiting. They just go and play other sports, they don't want to sit around for three or four weeks and not play.

"To me, ideally, it should be run on a Sunday because all the league tag juniors, all the little ones, play on a Sunday morning.

"I think what Group 10, and probably Group 11 are thinking at the same time, if you do that you are missing out on the gate takings."

Though Hotham knows that a super Sunday of league tag may not be the ideal solution, he thinks that continuing to run the senior games in conjunction with men's league fixtures will impact player retention rates.

He pointed out that to have league tag games linked with juniors on Sunday would also take the pressure off clubs that don't already have the player resources to field senior league tag sides.

"It's a very hard one, but if you are going to keep league tag going then I think it's too hard to run them with the men because there are not enough teams it," he said.

"They're also trying to make it if you don't have a league tag team you won't be allowed in the comp, but then if that's the case, Mudgee didn't have one [league tag side] last year, are they going to turn around and say they can't come into the comp?

"The same as us, if we struggle to get a team, especially to travel, do they turn around and so no to us?

"These are all the issues and no-one has the answers."

As for reserve grade, in Hotham's opinion the travel involved in a Western premiership would be a big obstacle for clubs to overcome.

"I know how hard it is just to get reserve grade players to travel to Mudgee and Cowra, it's like a lot of the time you've got to get a bus because if you don't a lot of them don't go," he said.

"It's a tricky one.

"I can't see it myself being feasible taking reserve grade and league tag out there as well as 18s and first grade."

While Hotham, who has put his hand up for a second term as Panthers president, is now waiting to see what next season brings he is still happy with what his club achieved in 2022.

"We were pretty happy, with first grade it was if we made the semis we'd be happy, but we went a couple of rounds further into the finals," he said.

"Reserves went on and won two comps [Group 10, Western Premiers Challenge] and the 18s, they were quite strong, they missed out on the grand final by one game and they were unlucky with that.

"The tag girls, hopefully we get enough players to go around next year."

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