League in the north kicks into new territory on Saturday with the first hit-up of the new North West Youth League to be made.
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The U18s competition is a collaboration between Castlereagh and Group 4 and will involve teams from Coonabarabran, Baradine, Gilgandra, Gulgong, Collegians, Narrabri, North Tamworth and Gunnedah.
Aimed at fostering youth rugby league in the north, the competition will see each of the U18 sides from the two leagues play each other once throughout the season, with the best performed sides from each competition facing off in a final in July.
Western Rams Regional Area Manager Peter Clarke believes the new competition is a great initiative for both regions.
“The main purpose of the North West Youth League is to provide the young men from Castlereagh and Group 4 with more opportunities to play Rugby League,” Clarke said.
“Both regions only have a small number of sides in the U18s division and the new competition allows them to play a larger number of games throughout the season as well as test themselves against teams from neighbouring areas that they wouldn’t normally play.”
Where practical, games have been scheduled alongside Castlereagh and Group 4 competition games and allocated on weekends where respective clubs have a bye or no football in their local competitions.
The competition will get underway with a triple header at Baradine, with Baradine taking on Gunnedah, Collegians clashing with Gilgandra and North Tamworth tackling Gulgong.