TRL official urges talks to address player drain
TRL official urges talks on decline
RUGBY LEAGUE: A prominent club official has warned the Darling Downs rugby league community can no longer ignore “the elephant in the room” threatening the viability of clubs in the Toowoomba competition.
Brothers club president Joe Hannant believes the time is “overdue” to discuss the ongoing decline in player numbers and the impact it is having on regional clubs and competitions.
Hannant’s comments follows a tumultuous pre-season for TRL club Souths Tigers who have had to deal with a player shortage crisis, while Brothers are also faced with reduced 2018 player numbers.
Souths’ personnel shortage eased last week after a public plea for support and the Tigers are set to line-up for next week’s competition kick-off with two senior teams.
Brothers will also field A and Reserve Grade sides but Hannant said the club’s thinly stretched playing numbers masked an underlying problem faced by regional sport clubs across the country.
“I don’t know the answer,” Hannant said yesterday.
“But it’s been there for a number of years now and we haven’t dealt with the problem as a group.
“We need to sit down and do it in an amicable way.”
Hannant said a shift in society and lifestyles had a broad effect on sport participation numbers.
Closer to home he said, a player drift to country clubs and higher player payments had contributed to the drain of players from city-based clubs Souths and Brothers.
“I think we’ll definitely field an A, Reserve and under-18 team this year, but our numbers are well down on last season,” Hannant said.
“It was also quoted at a recent TRL meeting that the overall competition was down about 500 registrations.”
Hannant said senior playing numbers had been eroded in recent years by the growing number of junior players opting out of rugby league after completing under-age football.
“Society is a little different now to what it used to be and there are probably a number of factors contributing to teenagers leaving the sport,” Hannant said.
“Our junior league is healthy but the numbers of 15 and 16 year-old players going to under 18 and under 18s moving into senior football has seen a hell of a drop off.
“It’s going beyond an individual club problem now; it’s on a broad scale.
“We need to try and find solutions and it’s paramount we do it now. We need to work out a way forward.
“It’s time to revise our goals and discuss what is and isn’t working elsewhere.
“The reality is, how our competition is currently running is not sustainable.”
WE NEED TO TRY AND FIND SOLUTIONS AND IT’S PARAMOUNT WE DO IT NOW.
JOE HANNANT