NSWRL announces plan for community league return on 18th July

April 23, 2020

Sport /

The NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) is to resume rugby league across the state, along with the Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and the Harvey Norman NSW women's premiership, as of 18th July.

As reported at NRL.com, NSWRL Chief Executive, David Trodden and his board have met for discussions around the future of grassroots rugby league and the three senior competitions - classed as community rugby league - since cancelling other major senior competitions for the 2020 season on 27th March.

Trodden said on the advice of Government restrictions in place by July, the state governing body would, subject to another review in June, work to resume the competitions in a shortened format for the remainder of the season.

The NSW Health Order restricts prevents sports from being played until at least 29th June.

In a statement issued by the NSWRL, Trodden advised “accordingly, the earliest possible return date is 30 June 2020, unless the NSW Government decides to lift the Public Health order earlier.

"Most winter sports favour working towards a return date of 18th July 2020, at the end of the next school holiday period, with a return to training on 1st July 2020, subject to the status of the public health in the interim.

"The NSWRL and everyone in our rugby league community need to be responsive to the continual changes to the Government advice around risks to public health for the broader community, and if it becomes apparent that a July start date is not feasible, we will adjust and reassess."

Trodden told NRL.com last week that NRL and other contracted players would unlikely be ineligible to use the third-tier Ron Massey Cup competition as a way to get some sort of match fitness under their belt after the Canterbury Cup was cancelled for the season.

He advised last week “one of the things the NRL will be really, really self-conscious of is the biosecurity risks to their competition.

"They'll want to make sure that anybody who has any association with an NRL squad is quarantined from anywhere else. The Canterbury Cup runs in conjunction with the NRL and that's why we made that call early."

The NSWRL indicated it has more than 100,000 boys, girls, men and women across the state involved in community rugby league eligible for a return.

All clubs and leagues are encouraged to continue to take registrations beyond the traditional 30th June registration cut-off date.

In March, major competitions Canterbury Cup NSW, Jersey Flegg Cup, Women's Country Championships and Men’s Under 23s Country Championships, along with junior representative competitions the SG Ball Cup, Tarsha Gale Cup, Harold Matthews Cup, Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup, were all confirmed to be cancelled for the season.

No awards or premierships will be awarded for either competition.

18th April 2020 - NRL moves forward with competition resumption in late May

13th April 2020 - Federal sports minister says NRL restart plan is ‘a bit ambitious’

9th April 2020 - Broadcaster accuses NRL of ‘mismanagement’ as league announces plans to recommence on 28th May

5th April 2020 - NRL players to lose five months’ pay as part of new shutdown deal

30th March 2020 - NRL slashes costs and backs clubs through Coronavirus crisis

27th March 2020 - NRL and state leagues announce cancellation of competitions and representative programs

28th February 2020 - Rugby League partnership helps disadvantaged Queensland youth

20th February 2020 - Mental health initiative accepted as an official Rugby League World Cup 2021 program

18th October 2019 - Unanimous vote backs rugby league in NSW being governed by one body

11th October 2019 - Plans for Melbourne Rugby League Centre of Excellence move forward

9th September 2019 - Australian Rugby League Commission names new Chairman

7th August 2019 - NSWRL All Schools Carnival celebrates 75th Anniversary

27th July 2019 - Rugby league Commissioner Mark Coyne resigns following drunken incident in Singapore

4th July 2019 - Rugby league players considering class action over NRL’s approach to concussion

27th May 2019 - NSWRL claims rise in rugby league participation

28th November 2018 - NSWRL named Organisation of the Year at NSW Sports Awards

22nd March 2019 - Balmain rugby league club secures NRL future with new facility to come

22nd November 2018 - Children the stars in campaign to promote junior rugby league

20th September 2018 - NRL advises of rise in rugby league participation through 2018

11th October 2019 - Fijian team to join NSWRL competition for 2020 season

6th February 2019 - Opening of NSWRL Centre of Excellence hailed as a ‘game-changer’

17th January 2019 - NSWRL steps in following collapse of Western Suburbs junior district

22nd August 2017 - NSWRL to launch new junior competition formats

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.