Former NRL player Damian Kenniff has labelled the CRL’s treatment of country league an “abomination” that has closed advancement pathways for talented Northern Division players and resulted in the “death” of group football.
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The former league coach at Farrer said the decision to cap the country championships at age 23 this year had “abandoned” the 24-35 age group.
Kenniff, who played a handful of NRL games for Gold Coast Seagulls in the early 1990s, said Northern Division elite players were not given the opportunity to advance their skills week to week and their football suffered consequently.
“The bigger problem seems to be that whilst everyone connected with league in the area can smell smoke, the CRL doesn’t see the urgency in the crisis,” he said.
He added: “There’s whispers the NSW Rugby League will take over everything. I wonder whether the CRL hierarchy have put the cue in the rack and just want to ride off into the sunset and leave the rubble behind.”
Kenniff, who grew up in Boggabri, said North Tamworth skipper Scott Blanch was one of the finest footballers to come out of the “Farrer nursery” but was “too old” to play for Country despite being in his prime.
“He played Toyota Cup for Manly and was in their top first-grade squad,” he said. “Scott returned home three years ago and now he is too old for Northern Division.
“He is too old for a country jumper. He then returns to play for North Tamworth Bears in a competition that does not challenge him at all.”
Kenniff added: “Creative thinking needed to happen yesterday – next year may be too late.”
He said there were two types of Northern Division player: those happy to play “social” Second Division and the 25 players who should be playing semi-professional league similar to Queensland’s Intrust Super Cup.
Queensland’s country rugby league system and pathways “leave NSW bush very envious”.
“The Queensland Cup has 14 semi-professional clubs, with all having an under-20 team,” he said. “Several of our top young rugby league football players from our area leave their hometowns and venture north to keep their dream alive to play professional football.”
He said those players included Moree’s Ryan Horton, Narrabri’s Isaac Laird (Toowoomba Mustangs), Inverell’s Ryan Stevens, Wee Waa’s Dylan Chow and Guyra’s Jock Waters (Toowoomba Valleys) and Gunnedah’s John Brady (Redcliffe Dolphins).
“In years gone by they could stay in the area and strive for a Country jumper. Not any more,” he said.
He added: “These players in the Q Cup [Intrust Super Cup] play elite football each week and have pathways to the Broncos or Titans if they are good enough. They have missed their NRL dream, but are still chasing it.”
Kenniff said the NSW country championship should last up to 12 rounds so top quality league could be seen in “very regional” bush towns.
He warned that the move to merge Group 4’s First and Second divisions would “widen the gap between the social footballer and those 25 players in northern country that need to be exposed to higher quality football on a regular basis”.
He called rugby union a “progressive” competition model where bush rugby players had an “opportunity to play against the best, and sometimes ex-Wallabies”.
“Last year as Scott Blanch walked to receive the [Group 4 premiership] trophy I could imagine he was saying to himself, ‘Is this as good as it gets’.
Blanch said he was lucky to have played at an elite level but would relish the chance to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for Country.
He bemoaned the fact that despite being in his prime, “there’s no avenue to test your skills in elite rugby league”. “Basically, you play club football and that’s it,” he said.
“He added: “Everyone who grows up in country NSW wants to get a Country NSW jersey. Personally I would love to wear one. But as it stand now, I’ll never get an opportunity to.”
