MOREE could have played its last game in Group 4.
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The Boars have applied to play in Group 19 next season.
It’s well-documented the Boars struggled this year.
They had to forfeit to West Tamworth and battled for numbers other games.
They’re hoping a move to Group 19 might reinvigorate the club.
“There’s a few hurdles to get over first,” Boars president Todd Mitchell said.
They have to be accepted by Group 19 and be released by Group 4. The CRL also has to sign off on the move.
“We’re hoping Group 4 will release us,” Mitchell said.
“I’m pretty sure they understand our situation.”
Even with that, they have to get approval from all the Group 19 clubs, although from the verbal correspondence he has had, Mitchell is optimistic.
He hopes to know within the next couple of weeks.
It’s not a decision that has just come out of the blue.
“It’s been something a lot of blokes have spoken about,” Mitchell said.
“The Moree Boars juniors up to 16s play in Group 19.
“The Boomerangs are in Group 19.
“It makes common sense that we go to Group 19 and play in the same competition as our juniors.”
The Boars have previously played in Group 19. That was probably about 20 years ago, Mitchell thought.
Since then they’ve been a part of Group 4.
It’s been all Mitchell has known, but he said for the club now, Group 19 was the best option.
Moree’s plight was one of the prompts for the “Think Tank” Group 4 held late last season.
While there were some ideas floated around at that, nothing came to fruition.
One of the options was a western conference, which Moree would be a part of.
If that had happened, Mitchell said they mightn’t be taking this course but, with it not getting up, all they could see was things going down the same track as this year.
Before making the decision they approached the players to get their thoughts, Mitchell said.
What they heard was they didn’t want to play in Group 4.
“I think the trips to Tamworth have probably taken their toll over the years and with West and North being so dominant,” Mitchell said.
That’s not to take anything away from them, he said, but it makes it hard when you’re travelling three hours and getting flogged.
In some cases it’s even longer. Mitchell said they had players who come in from Boomi, Croppa Creek, Galah and Mungundi.
“That’s another reason we think Group 19 is easier,” Mitchell said.
The travel will be a lot less.
It will also allow them to play derbies.
“It’s something we’ve talked about,” Mitchell said.
“Having home games like North versus West Tamworth.”
The numbers are there, Mitchell said.
You only have to look at the interest in the nines competition the Boars are running.
There’s 120 players signed up to play in that at the moment.
The competition will be played of a Friday night over four rounds with six teams of 20, which also include players from the Boomerangs and Bulls.
Mitchell said there may even be enough to put another couple of teams together.
“The idea of this is to try to get blokes playing footy again,” he said.
It’s slated to start on February 21.
“It’s good pre-season training,” Mitchell said.
The Bulls are also running a seven-a-side competition the two Friday nights before.