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THE lack of junior rugby union in this area remains the biggest concern for the long term viability of code in the Lower North Coast.
That’s the opinion of Scott Burley, who played a leading role in the establishment of the LNC premiership in 2008.
Burley, a former Gloucester player is now associated with the Manning Ratz club, was commenting on the apparent loss of Wauchope Thunder from the Lower North Coast to the Mid North Coast competition for 2016.
Thunder formed to play in the LNC competition this year, bringing the number of sides involved to seven. While Thunder missed the semi-finals and suffered some heavy losses, the club wants to move north in 2016.
Burley wonders if this may be premature.
“They won’t be competitive up there - they’ll be bottom dwellers,’’ he said.
However, club officials say the opportunity to play in a two grade competition is one of the compelling factors.
“They’ll also be looking to when some of their juniors start coming through,’’ Burley added.
This will leave six clubs in the LNC next season. However, there are concerns about Myall Coast’s future while Old Bar has struggled for the past two years and missed the 2013 season citing a lack of numbers. Until then the Clams had been the most successful club in the LNC, making successive grand finals from 2008-12 and winning two premierships.
“The biggest problem we have here is a lack of a junior competition,’’ Burley claims.
“Clubs need juniors coming through to improve the standard and ensure sustainability.’’
While rugby has a presence in schools in this area there is no junior club competition, as is the case in the Mid North Coast.
The Lower North Coast competition started to address concerns from southern clubs about the travel involved and the gulf in standard between the south and the north. Until then the Mid North Coast Zone took in clubs from Forster-Tuncurry to Coffs Harbour. Gloucester, this year’s LNC grand finalists, played in the Mid North Coast competition until Coffs Harbour clubs were included in the early 1990s. The club found the extra travel was too much of a burden and switched to playing in Newcastle until the Lower North Coast premiership was started in 2008.
Lower North Coast clubs have stridently opposed any moves to reunite the zone into one competition.
Burley says the loss of Wauchope isn’t a major concern for the LNC at this stage, pointing out that there should still be six clubs here for 2016.
However, he agrees that will change should Myall Coast withdraw and Old Bar continue to struggle.
“If it got down to four or five clubs I think there’d be renewed calls to make it one zone again,’’ he said.