Breakthrough as levy wins a cap

“There’s a better outcome for clubs on the horizon,” Central North president Tony Byrnes advised this week.

The decision by the ARU to introduce a user-pay system for insurance fees has caused ructions among the rugby fraternity with clubs and zones concerned about the impost it would put on players and clubs, and hence the  drain on player numbers.

They are worried it will drive players away from the game.

It is still to be ratified but Byrnes said NSW Country has through the NSW Rugby Union negotiated an agreement the insurance amount paid in 2015 “won’t exceed that paid in 2014”.

“The bottom line is the insurance levy won’t penalise clubs in excess of what they paid in 2014,” Byrnes said.

“The levy will be basically capped.”

It is a big breakthrough.

It had the potential he said to cost clubs like Pirates, which last year had five teams, a lot of money.

Some clubs, in discussions he’s had with other counterparts, were talking about their costs doubling.

Under the previous system clubs paid a fee per team and once a player registered with them they were automatically insured.

The proposed changes would impose a $75 insurance levy per player.

That’s on top of a national participation fee, and combined will see players up for over $100 upfront.

The participation fee has also been introduced this year, but has been accepted.

“We’re all happy with the national participation fee,” Byrnes said.

It puts them in line with what a lot of other sports are doing, he said.

The concern is the insurance levy.

It’s not just the bigger clubs that will be affected either under the changes.

The increase in costs would have an impact on the smaller clubs too. If anything it probably affects them more.

They don’t have the resources, either funds or playing depth, that the bigger clubs do.

Already struggling for numbers they can ill-afford to lose more.

Pirates president Kelvin Collyer, while acknowledging that the NIL would have an affect on them, felt it would probably hurt the likes of Barraba and Quirindi more than them.

“The smaller ones (clubs) will be more the one’s that suffer than your Magpies and Pirates,” he said.

They have a lot of players that register but don’t necessarily play week in week out.

“At least our guys, the one’s we’ve got registered they’re there all the time,” he said.

“Coming back to per team is much fairer,” he said.

The Rams had around 44 players registered last year for their first grade side.

It was their only side and cost them $1,790, as was the per team fee.

Under the new system – working on the same numbers – their insurance this year would equate to $3300.

That’s almost double, and has to be worn by someone.

Their biggest concern with the changes is how it will affect their capacity to rely on those players that just pull on the boots to fill in or on their uni breaks and the like.

The NIL would discourage players from doing that.

“The hardest part of it is if you had a player turn up on the weekend to play, it’s a big initial cost to get them on the paddock,” Rams president Stephen Peake said.

The club does it to accommodate the players that fill in, offering a one-off membership fee.

Under the NIL though they would have to fork out over $100 for possibly just one game.

Or the club would have to cover that, which isn’t feasible either.

Capping the insurance levy will allow them to still use players for a game or two if they needed them.

“Last year at one stage we had nine injured players,” Peake said.

“To allow someone to come back in to fill-in is essential for smaller clubs.”

“At the end of the day you want as many people playing rugby as possible and as cheaply as possible.”

The changes will filter down to the juniors but the disparity doesn’t appear to be as much.

Outgoing Central North junior president Dom Shortis said from his understanding players will have to pay the participation fee but the insurance fee will only be $8 a head.

n The Rams will be holding a meet and great the coaches night on January 17th at 6pm. It’s open to all players and 

families.