BIDDING WAR AHEAD

Q There are fears when the under-20s go full season, it could spark a bidding war for young players. What do you make of that?

A I think it’s a major issue. You know there’s young players that are coming through that are getting offers from their clubs to play, winning bonuses or whatever and they go into the statewide system with the ISC and I can see the potential issues if you’ve got players getting for example $500 a win at their club and $200 a win at the Pride. Who’s going to win? I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of hard work to do.

Q I guess considering your history in the game, you’re in this role to look out for the

future of the CDRL? A I’m really a basic grassroots man and that’s my mindset too I guess. I just think we’re losing a little momentum. It’s hard to put a finger on why our numbers are going down but I think our competition is still strong, but it’s nowhere near what the strength of rugby league was 20 years ago.