GROUP 4 has proposed the launch of a new rugby league competition called Footie Fours.
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It is an attempt to give players game time in 2020 following the cancellation of the Group 4 season because of COVID-19.
Interim Group 4 chairman Terry Psarakis said Footie Fours is basically a nines competition with four teams.
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Psarakis said the format is based on the now-defunct Tamworth Premier League cricket competition. (Psarakis was Tamworth District Cricket Association president when the Premier League was launch).
"It worked very successfully for the TDCA for a number of years," he said.
"It introduced players to play with players from other clubs [and] exposed us to new sponsors we hadn't had in the game before."
A tentative start date of October 3 has been set for Footie Fours, with the competition slated to run over three Saturday nights - concluding with finals on October 24.
The teams would play three games a night, with nine-minute halves.
The Group 4 board would name four captains, who would then sit down at a selection night with their manager and/or sponsor to select a squad of 15 players from a draft.
Players not selected would be consigned to a reserve pool, and they could be drafted into a side through player unavailability.
Two players from the same club cannot be selected with successive picks.
"So that spreads the players around," Psarakis said, adding that it is an "exciting concept we think can provide players with a lot of fun in this pandemic and also help promote the game".
"We already have one team sponsor - Marius Street Family Dental," he said.
Interested players can register via Group 4 secretary Catherine Weeks (the cost is $80).
Psarakis said the concept was the result of him holding discussions with a number of people, including Bears president Jodie Cooper, former Bears president Jack Woolaston and Scott Bone - NSW Rugby League area manager (Greater Northern).
The Group 4 board gave Footie Fours to go-ahead at a meeting on Thursday night.
Footie Fours is seen as an economically and ethically viable concept, as long as all the COVID protocols are followed.
While the clubs won't have to provide any input, they may provide volunteers to help out with the running of Footie Fours.
