CDRL has sights set on playing full season

THE Cairns and District Rugby League will power on with a full 20-round draw this season, provided they can get on the field in early May.

CDRL secretary/operations manager Pat Bailey said the league had the potential to play out the entire season if it was given the green light to return in May, as scheduled.

All junior, community and representative rugby league competitions in Queensland have been postponed until May 1 to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“We had a meeting on Wednesday night and we’ve decided to still go with the full draw, if we can start after May 1,” she said. “So our first game will be on the weekend of May 9-10, with the grand final to be played on October 17.

“There’s only one public holiday in that, which is the Queen’s Birthday in October, and we will be playing that weekend.

“With the NRL grand final, they have that on the Sunday of the long weekend in October, and we’ll make sure our games are either on Friday night or on the Saturday so people can still watch it.

“That’s what we can do now, but if the situation changes we’ll have to have another look.”

Keeping the same draw but pushing the season back a month would also allow for the CDRL Women’s tackle competition to make its triumphant return. The comp is scheduled to run for the first half of the season and will be the first time the Far North offers senior women’s tackle league in almost a decade.

Bailey said keeping the 20round season was the preferred option over a condensed competition, with all clubs supporting the move.

“We really want to be fair to all clubs so they’ve all got the same ability to earn money through gates, canteens and bars,” she said. She said the CDRL was here to help.

“One of the things that came up in the meeting was that some of the clubs pay rates for council grounds,” she said.

“We’re going to go in and seek a 12-month waiver for those, because it’s going to take clubs more than 12 months to get back on their feet.”