The NSW Rugby League should give priority to organising an under-18 competition this year after the widespread shutdown of footy in the state, according to former Blues star Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
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Learoyd-Lahrs - coach of reigning under-18 premiers North Tamworth - has joined a number of prominent rugby league identities in the region to bemoan the very real possibility that this pivotal year in a footballer's development will be lost for most players.
If that happens, the former Raiders and Australia star believes that the Group 4 under-18 comp should be made an under-19 comp in 2021 to give this year's crop of players another option other than playing reserve grade or first grade next season or retiring.
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He said: "I thinks 18s has got to be the focus [of the NSWRL] because, honestly, that's the lifeblood of rugby league in the bush.
"With the young fellas coming through, we've gotta make sure we keep them in the game."
Learoyd-Lahrs warned that if the under-18s played no footy this year (NSW senior sport resumes on July 1), "the likelihood of them all coming back becomes a lot less, because you get caught up in other things".
He said society as a whole would benefit from the players seeing action this year.
"The world is in a funny place at the moment," he said. "Every young bloke needs an outlet.
"At the moment, they would be just not getting it ... to blow steam out and be a kid."
Learoyd-Lahrs said he did not care what the competition(s) looked like, "as long as we've got something on the table for them".
"I haven't completely given up hope yet, because I know the NSWRL are desperate to see footy played," he said.
"There's a glimmer of hope there that we still might get some games of footy for the boys."
Learoyd-Lahrs remembers his stint with Werris Creek's under-18 side and his senior-year footy at Farrer as being probably the "simplest" and "less stressful" of his career.
"It's still pretty pure footy," he said. "It's all about that enjoyment and playing with your mates. "So, to lose that would be really sad for the boys."
Werris Creek first-grade coach Ron Dellar said the step up to senior football was "very hard".
"You've got kids who are 17 turning 18 [years old] this year," he said, "and next year they're either gonna be in reserve grade or first grade, when they haven't any skills they would have got playing under-18s."
Group 4 chairman Ray McCoy said that while the under-18 players would be "disappointed", they would still get the chance to play senior football with their current teammates.
He said: "There's probably a number of senior players who may have contemplated 2020 as [being] their last season before retirement."
