ARLmulls semi-pro competition

Auckland Rugby League sees starting up a new semiprofessional tournament as an integral part of its bid for the Warriors.

In its ambitious proposal to take control of the NRL team, Auckland Rugby League wants to have the Warriors at the top of a pyramid with a newly formed Bartercard Cup-type league underneath it.

ARL chairman Cameron McGregor told Stuff they wanted to take ownership of the NRL club they sold in 1999 to rejuvenate the game in the city.

‘‘At the moment, we’ve put in a bid and we’re waiting for a response and we’re going through a negotiation period,’’ McGregor said.

‘‘One of the issues we’ve got at Auckland Rugby League is that for the last few years there have been over 500 players leave Auckland for Australia,’’ McGregor said.

‘‘We believe part of the problem with the Warriors is that we’re not able to give them enough support. There is nothing in Auckland between the amateur side of the game and the professional level.

‘‘There isn’t a semi-professional competition and one of the problems I’m sure everyone is aware of with the Warriors is that they don’t have players who are able to play at NRL level.

‘‘There are no pathways in Auckland, so all of the kids are going overseas.

‘‘Part of the reason why we want to do this is because we want to be able to take some of the Warriors’ money and not only will that be good for Auckland Rugby League, but also extremely beneficial for the Warriors, in that if we have a competition underneath them at a sufficient level.

‘‘So instead of having one halfback and stand off running around in the reserve grade, they’d have possibly 10 halfbacks and stand offs running around in a competition below them.’’

When Jason Taumalolo left New Zealand at the age of 14, he did so knowing his chances of making it into the NRL were greater if he lived in Australia.

Club league in New Zealand is amateur, so if players miss out on the NRL, they can try their luck with a NSW Cup or Queensland Cup team in Australia and then hope to make the step up from there.

Having a semi-professional competition in this country would give those players more incentive to stay on this side of the Tasman.

‘‘Because we’re losing all of these players, there is no depth here in Auckland for the Warriors,’’ McGregor said.

‘‘They should be a player development club, that’s what they were set up for and we know we’ve got the talent in New Zealand.

‘‘If we could harness that talent in the proper way, then surely we’d be in the top four every year.’’