Better continuity of games and greater opportunities for women and juniors are among the biggest positives that Central North clubs can foresee from the proposed integrated competition with New England.
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On Sunday the zone voted convincingly in favour of trialing a joint competition for 2018 and 2019.
Those that support the concept believe it will reinvigorate the game in the north and add a new dimension to the competition.
Moree were among those to throw their support behind the proposal.
Moree president Paul King said the biggest driver for the Bulls is giving their players more games, particularly second grade.
“It’s all about providing footy for these players,” King said.
“We had 74 registered senior players this year. We’ve got to give them a game to keep them interested.
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Tamworth president Mitch Hanlon expressed similar sentiments.
“We’re excited by the opportunity to play a different style of footy,” he said.
“And for all our teams to have the opportunity to play rugby on a weekend.”
“Our players (second grade and juniors) weren’t getting games of footy.”
He believes that should the competition go ahead it is “going to be great for footy”.
“We‘re looking forward to the Armidale clubs coming into the competition.”
“We think they are going to play an exiting brand of footy,” he said.
Pirates rugby coordinator Andrew Verrell said if it happens it will be a “shot in the arm for rugby”.
He can’t really see any negatives with it, and said it will give them a more enticing product to offer players.
“We can’t go to the marketplace and say come and play rugby for us, especially to the young guys,” he said.
“We can’t promise them regular games.”
“That’s where we are really taking a hit at the moment.”
“The other positive out of this is the women.
“They’ve got a ready made competition to go into.”
Walcha president Andrew Crawford believes it will be beneficial for rugby in the region and bring a new vibe into the competition.
“I think we’ve got to look towards the future,” he said.
“If things work out like I hope they will with New England it will be a good competition,” he said.
Not all the clubs are in favour of the joint venture with three voting against it.
Gunnedah were one of those. They don’t see any advantage in pursuing it at this stage.
“Ultimately in balance maybe we have to eventually head that way because we need to get more people playing rugby,” Red Devils vice-president Sam Leys said.
“We don’t think that 2018 is the year to do that.”
Having agreed to disband with the two tier system and return to the old home and away system at the zone agm, they would have preferred to go down that route.
”We understand the principles that they are trying to chase - more depth for third grade, more depth for juniors, and more depth for the womens competition but I’m not sure how all that is going to unfold and whether that will be achieved,” Leys said.
It isn’t over the line yet with the New England clubs to vote on Tuesday night.
