Group 19’s news to introduce a second division competition featuring a senior men’s and women’s league tag team was welcomed by the new committee at the Guyra Super Spuds.
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The Super Spuds’ omission from this year’s Group 19 broke the hearts of rugby league fans throughout the town but the committee re-formed last week and had their fingers crossed Group 19 would provide a competition for them to compete in.
Super Spuds publicity officer Grant Robertson believes it will allow the smaller towns within the Group 19 boundaries to lay a platform for future success.
“It's a boom or bust situation, you either play first grade or you fold,” he said.
“We see it as the best way forward for rugby league in this area and hope that small clubs like ours will get right behind the new second division.
“It's certainly achieveable for a lot of small towns to do that, even if clubs can't quite get an under 18s or reserve grade, they can usually come up with a men's senior team and a league tag side.
“The thing about a second division is it gives clubs who are struggling a bit an opportunity to rebuild and there's no reason why even a club like ours couldn't one day play first division again, we wouldn't rule that out.
“It's certainly not on our radar the moment but if we are given a competition to survive in and play in for the time being, there's the possibility we could play first division one day.”
Questions were raised around the club’s financial status after belief the club folded due to outstanding debts. Robertson said the committee put forward plans to return the club back to it’s successful status.
“The club at the moment is in a financial position that requires sufficiently urgent attention but there's definitely already some ideas in place to work on that,” he said.
“There are plenty of clubs around the place who get themselves in debt and have to work their way out of it, far more than what we're in at the moment.”
Guyra’s junior league players were successful throughout the year with three teams finishing first and the fourth claiming third.
Robertson said not having a senior team would run the risk of losing those juniors and was pleased the new competition would provide an option upon moving to the older level.
“Guyra is a rugby league town, always has been, we should be playing rugby league and that is the opinion of the committee. The junior league has been going really well and there's no real avenue for those players for once they get a bit older to remain playing rugby league in Guyra,” he said.