Last month we heard the announcement of a looming merger between the NSWRL and Country Rugby League, which would see rugby league in NSW governed by one body for the first time in almost a century.
While discussions could take up to two years, both parties have agreed to a memorandum of understanding expressing their common objectives and intentions.
From a fan’s perspective the merger would bring the long-awaited statewide NSW Platinum League a step closer. This lower division professional competition would operate in tandem with the Queensland Cup, with teams spread across the state rather than consolidating within the Sydney metropolitan area.
An obvious criterium for the Platinum League is for it to have standalone clubs rather than reserve NRL squads playing with NRL branding. This could ensure the survival of clubs with significant heritage value and also allow country regions to develop teams that truly represent their values.
Like the Queensland Cup, fans have expected the Platinum League to be launched as the premier professional competition in the state – as the second tier of rugby league operating one level below the NRL. Since 2015 the top second-tier clubs from NSW and Queensland have played a curtain-raiser to the NRL grand final in the NRL State Championship.
In essence, fans would expect the Platinum League to replace the NSW Cup, currently known as the Intrust Super Premiership.
But the current membership model of NSWRL could see the Platinum League relegated to a third-tier competition, which could restrict the appeal of the competition and limit opportunities for television broadcasting.
(Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The reason is quite simple – the NSWRL is controlled by NRL clubs that desperately need a reserve-grade competition at the second tier to maintain full control of their reserve squads and junior pathways.
Granted, many NRL clubs have successfully outsourced their reserve squads to non-NRL clubs, and these agreements initially enabled the NSW Cup to evolve into a standalone competition operating from suburban grounds like Henson Park in Marrickville and North Sydney Oval.
The outsourcing agreements were most popular during the era of the under-20s National Youth Competition (NYC), which was supported by NRL clubs in the hope that it would eventually become a national reserve grade.
But the NYC failed to live up to expectations and NRL coaches became increasingly frustrated about the fragmented pathway from under-20s to graduation into the NRL, with the majority of NYC graduates needing to spend some time in the NSW Cup before obtaining an NRL contract. The NYC was eventually abolished after the 2017 season.
The latest trend sees the NSW Cup return to a reserve grade competition for the NSW-based NRL clubs and directly mirror the under-20s Jersey Flegg, under-18s SG Ball and under-16s Harold Matthews cups in which teams participate with their NRL club names and colours.
Last month the Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs both announced their intention to re-enter teams in the NSW Cup, while the Wyong Roos and Wentworthville will both withdraw from the NSW Cup. The North Sydney Bears will shift their allegiance from Souths to the Sydney Roosters.
At present the third tier of rugby league in NSW is the semi-professional Ron Massey Cup, which comprises standalone clubs from Sydney but has previously admitted clubs from the Central Coast and Shellharbour.
(Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
At a junior level the CRL runs the under-18s Laurie Daley Cup and the under-16s Andrew Johns Cup throughout regional areas, and these teams have formalised ties to NRL clubs. The intention of these competitions was always to allow junior players to spend more time at home with their families and not be forced into moving to the big smoke at a young age. These competitions could be viewed as the lower-tier version of the SG Ball and Harold Matthews cups.
My prediction is that the CRL and NSWRL merger will bring about a standalone Platinum League, which will build on the recent NRL-CRL junior affiliations we have seen in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley cups, and utilise the structures, skills and expertise from the Ron Massey Cup.
The competition could exploit the heritage value of former top-tier clubs like the North Sydney Bears, Newtown Jets, Illawarra Steelers and even the Western Rams, who famously won the inaugural preseason Amco Cup in 1974 against top-tier sides.
A 12-team competition spanning all regions of NSW, including the Sydney metropolitan region plus one interstate development team (with NRL affiliations in brackets), would look something like this:
- North Coast Bulldogs (Canterbury Bulldogs)
- New England or Southern Highlands Tigers (Wests Tigers)
- Hunter Valley (Newcastle Knights)
- Central Coast Centurions (Sydney Roosters)
- North Sydney Bears (* Manly Sea Eagles)
- Wentworthville Magpies (Parramatta Eels)
- Newtown Jets (Cronulla Sharks)
- Mounties (* South Sydney Rabbitohs)
- Illawarra Steelers (St George Illawarra)
- Murrumbidgee Bulls / Monaro Colts JV (Canberra Raiders)
- Western Rams (Penrith Panthers)
- Perth Pirates
*denotes formal ties would still need to be established.
The challenges for this statewide competition will be how to maintain relevance and attract corporate sponsors and television broadcasting opportunities when operating from the third-tier of rugby league.
Theo
Roar Rookie
For a full season format, state competition match played Tuesday, state v state competition match played Wednesday, international competition match played Thursday. Personally, that’s interest for Saints Tuesday, New South Wales Wednesday, Australia Thursday. Australia would get the first choice of players, New South Wales next, and the clubs registered in NSW playing in the NSW state competition the remainder.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
So the penny drops for me. Finally understand why the isc is only in Sydney. Still quite a minefield to work through. Agree a little bit with big daddy. Some clubs in Illawarra and Newcastle could go it alone in a state wide cup
Matt
Guest
Love the idea of Districts being represented, especially for the country areas. Hopefully if the NRL can gather the required financial support. Would love to see the future ability for a 2nd and 3rd tier and bring the capability to introduce promotion and relegation from the NSW and QLD Cups and third tier. While funding like the Premier League may never happen, being able to support your district through their ups and downs and especially when they reach the top league is a great thing. Would be a fantastic pathway for the country districts and other teams like PNG, Perth, Wellington, etc to truely earn their promotion to the NRL rather than be decided by a committee, further alienating fans from the areas that miss out.
Greg Biernat
Roar Rookie
Fiji were hoping to be admitted to the second-tier NSW Cup (Intrust Super Premiership). The Fijians would not have any NRL affiliations and they would need to develop their own juniors and local competition to feed into the Fijian team. The Murrumbidgee (Bidgee) Bulls are the junior rep team for the Riverina, based in Wagga. The Monaro Colts are the junior rep team for the Capital region which includes Queanbeyan, Goulburn, Canberra, the far south coast (Batemans Bay) and the snowy mountains (Cooma).
Alex
Roar Rookie
I love the idea of combining the two entities and developing a proper second tier. The current model needs a shake-up and the merry-go-round of NSW Cup affiliations, combined with the Bulldogs essentially rigging the comp this year with NRL players proves that it isn't sustainable. Stand-alone clubs would be great - it works for the A-league, and every other professional sport - just build squads with depth. Also like your list of proposed clubs if the reserve grade system is retained, only comments I have: - If the Bears ever feed into manly I will neck myself - The Magpie should be the reserve grade mascot of the Tigers - This is a great opportunity to bring in a southern NZ and Fiji team, and also cover the Riverina
Sammy
Guest
The NSWRL and CRL are merging, so geography and territorial divisions won't be a problem. The problem will be attracting finances to the Platinum League when it could be argued that the standard will not be high enough. But as Wagon Wheel has implied above, the Platinum League can still attract fans and be relevant even if it is technically weaker than the NSW Cup which is heading towards a reserve grade model to serve the interests of the clubs rather than the fans.
Big Daddy
Guest
To me a third tier cup could be from the top teams from Newcastle ( who are now part of nswrl and not CRL) , Illawarra, central coast and teams from the Ron Massey cup with no direct association with NRL clubs. There are some pretty wealthy clubs competing in these comps. But some of these NRL clubs want to get their greedy hands on them. Geographically it may work but that would mean clubs in those regions would fall under nswrl control. Not sure if that's what we need.
Greg Biernat
Roar Rookie
In terms of overall strength the Queensland Cup would probably be somewhere in between the proposed Platinum League and the NSW Cup (Reserve Grade).
Wagon Wheel
Guest
The second tier NSW Cup will only get stronger as it reverts back to the old reserve grade. This comp exists to satisfy the needs of the NRL Clubs even if it doesn't appeal to fans. But it doesn't need to appeal to fans and it doesn't need any publicity. Its purely a utilitarian comp. The NSW Platinum League can still be relevant at the third tier because it will eventually be on par with the Queensland Cup which will only get weaker after the NRL expands with a second Brisbane team and a Perth team. The NRL State Championship can easily be redefined as a third tier competition.
Dracula
Guest
The great thing about stand-alone clubs in the lower divisions is that they can compete against the NRL Clubs in pre-season knock-out tournaments. I remember the 1974 Amco Cup won by Western Division (Western Rams), based out of Bathurst with players from Orange and Cowra. NRL affiliations are important for attracting NRL matches and NRL investment to the regions - like Penrith to Bathurst, Wests to Tamworth, Canberra to Wagga, Canterbury to Coffs Harbour, Sydney Roosters to Central Coast.