Where's the promised grassroots support?

Amanda Nabhan’s four sons all play rugby league at the Bankstown Bulls.

Amanda and her family are part of the fabric at the Bankstown Bulls Junior Rugby League Club. Currently coaching her youngest son’s under fives team, her husband Abdul has also coached older grades at the club for a number of years. The Nabhan family have been in and around the club for 13 years.

It was at the end of 2016 where the ARL Commission and NRL clubs signed a binding agreement, which was said to secure the long-term funding of the clubs. Included in this package was a 65 per cent increase in funding for grassroots rugby league.

Despite the NRL promising “more funding than ever before to grassroots” in their 2017 Annual Report and in their current strategic plan, Amanda has said that she hasn’t noticed any funding changes at the Bulls.

“There is more that could be done. I think that the NRL, or in my case the Bulldogs, should give every junior club [a decent] amount of money to help with things like new equipment and money to help fix up the parks,” she said.

However, according to the Queensland Times, earlier this year the NRL spent $30,000 on a going away party for former Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman, John Grant.

Such an amount could’ve been funded to grassroots for equipment and better facilities.

John Grant’s farewell party cost a pretty penny (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

Rather than gaining assistance from the higher governing bodies, clubs are left to fend for themselves, hold their own fundraisers and find their own sponsors.

Lack of funding has led to teams folding. The Auburn Warriors – a feeder club to the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs – were forced to fold due to a sponsorship deal that fell through. This is what people at the Bankstown Bulls are trying to avoid.

Anthony Samuel has been involved at the Bankstown Bulls for over 18 years. Currently the Treasurer at the club, he said that the Bulls do not receive any support from the NRL, and only the bare minimum from New South Wales Rugby League and the Bulldogs.

“The people who help most are the actual people in the club,” he said.

“Without canteen sales, sponsorship and our main fundraiser, we as a club don’t survive.”

This year, the Bulldogs funded the club with $1700. Anthony said that this figure is a percentage of the amount of player registrations the club gets. With over 20 teams and a lot of new players signed up, he said that this amount isn’t very much at all.

Sighing at this figure, there wasn’t much else Anthony could say.

“We really don’t get that much from anyone,” he said.

Being involved in grassroots himself for over 35 years, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Football Club Director John Khoury also chairs the Junior League sub-committee.

With the current board only elected earlier this year, Mr Khoury said that fact finding reviews have started, such as meeting local clubs in the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Junior Rugby League (CBJRL) district.

“We have already identified some easy target improvement activities,” he said.

As the board at the Bulldogs is still a new one, funding is still under discussion. Grassroots was one of the main election pillars, which progress is to be reported on annually at member forums.

Belmore Oval (Photo: AAP)

Mr Khoury said that improvement activities have already been discussed, including better coaches at local clubs, including but not limited to better promotion of junior league in schools.

Upon the folding of the Auburn Warriors earlier this year, Mr Khoury also said that resurrecting or creating new local district clubs as the player numbers increase would also be considered.

As Amanda continues to coach and do her best for the Bulls, she can only hope that more involvement and more funding come through to the club she knows and loves.

“I would love to see more involvement from the NRL and the Bulldogs,” she said.

The NRL did not respond to a request for comment.