HORNETS ENTER LEAGUE NEST
THE Rugby League Gold Coast A Grade competition will expand to eight teams in 2021 with Helensvale Hornets joining the top division for the first time since 2006.
The success of 2019 inductee Mudgeeraba, which reached the semi-finals in its first season in A Grade, and the competitiveness of the Ormeau Shearers assured RLGC officials the competition was ready for a new team.
THE Rugby League Gold Coast A-Grade competition will expand to eight teams in 2021 with Helensvale Hornets joining the top flight for the first time since 2006.
The success of 2019 inductee Mudgeeraba, which reached the semi-finals in its first season in A Grade, and the competitiveness of the Ormeau Shearers, assured RLGC officials the competition was ready for a new team.
With three new teams in five seasons the growth of the A-Grade competition has been rapid. According to chairman Pete Daley, that has been by careful design to ensure the region does not over-exert itself and weaken the A-Grade product.
“Our population is growing every year and if we’re not growing as a sport with it then we’re going backwards,” Daley said. “Helensvale have been waiting for a year or two and now we feel they’re ready to go.”
Daley praised the stability of Helensvale’s executive and volunteer base as laying a foundation for the club to successfully navigate its promotion to the top division.
“Financials are the biggest thing for them to fill an AGrade team and they’re very sound financially,” he said.
“They’ve got some grants on the way to increase their facilities. They’ve had under-18s, under-20s and DLC (reserve grade) teams already.
“They have lots of players out in the community playing A Grade and they’ll have an opportunity to return to their junior club which is a great thing for all involved.”
Helensvale president Wayne Court said the club felt ready to tackle the A-Grade competition.
“We’ve been working to
wards this for a long time,” he said. “RLGC spoke to us last year when Mudgeeraba were about to come in but we knocked it back because we weren’t quite ready and we didn’t want to do it halfheartedly.
“We don’t want to be a flash in the pan and pull out; we’re here to be competitive.”
To that end, discussions of affording Helensvale special dispensations including eased recruitment restrictions and extra Intrust Super Cup portability positions have already begun.
The club is actively approaching talented juniors who have continued their rugby league journeys at other clubs about returning home.
But the club says it would be a mistake to characterise its recruitment drive as anything other than setting a base for success.
“We’ve got some Helensvale juniors to bring back but our plan is to have (A Grade) for our own juniors to come through to,” Court said.
“That’s been the whole goal, to build somewhere so they don’t need to go anywhere else.
“We’re excited and appreciative of the opportunity RLGC has given us because we’ve worked hard for the right to be up here.”