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ARL considering return to reserve grade
By James Phelps | April 16, 2009
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25339997-5006066,00.html
....IT'S what every league fan wants: Three grades playing at the same ground on game day, just like in the old days. And today The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the ARL is considering bowing to public demand, conceding that the muddled NSW lower grade system doesn't work.
ARL boss Geoff Carr last night said he would consider a new look reserve grade playing on NRL match day alongside the Under 20s after Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore threatened to abandon the NSW Cup because of a scheduling blunder.
Moore slammed the competition as "ridiculous" and a "joke" and warned of sending players to the Queensland Cup because of a farcical situation that has delayed the return of his $200,000 a year prop Jarrad Hickey by 20 days.
Man mountain Hickey's NRL return from a back injury has been put off because of a two-week break in the NSW Cup, which is widely regarded as a failure.
Moore also revealed that the NSWRL scheduling fiasco would delay the NRL returns of forgotten Bulldogs Jamal Idris, Lee Te Maari and Ben Barba.
"Hickey has been busting his arse to get back early and now he is fit to play but can't find a game," Moore said. "Our feeder side, the Bankstown Bulls, didn't play last weekend because of Easter and won't play this weekend because they have the bye. I would have picked Jarrad this week had he had a game under his belt."
NSW Cup teams only play 20 games compared to the NRL's 24, exposing a gaping hole between the Under 20s National Youth Competition and the NRL.
Moore's spray last night prompted ARL boss Geoff Carr to concede that the NSW Cup was a work in progress before saying he was open to a return to three-match game days.
"We need NRL clubs to support this competition," Carr said.
"We want to be the second tier NRL competition. Premier League was always the second competition but then the Under 20s started."
Moore slammed the NSW Cup as substandard and said only a few NYC players were ready for the NRL.
He claimed it was a major issue.
"The Queensland Cup is a far superior competition," Moore said.
"The Bulldogs have stayed loyal to the NSWRL but I don't know how much longer we can do that.
"I believe the players we send back to the NSW Cup are playing in a sub-standard competition.
"The quality is diluted by the fact there is another competition (The Bundaberg Red Cup) that is in direct competition with it.
"I can't get blokes fit or get a gauge of form. It is quite ridiculous. The word 'diabolic' is close to the mark. I can't get a bloke on the fringe of first grade into a regular, good quality competition."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25339997-5006066,00.html
By James Phelps | April 16, 2009
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25339997-5006066,00.html
....IT'S what every league fan wants: Three grades playing at the same ground on game day, just like in the old days. And today The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the ARL is considering bowing to public demand, conceding that the muddled NSW lower grade system doesn't work.
ARL boss Geoff Carr last night said he would consider a new look reserve grade playing on NRL match day alongside the Under 20s after Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore threatened to abandon the NSW Cup because of a scheduling blunder.
Moore slammed the competition as "ridiculous" and a "joke" and warned of sending players to the Queensland Cup because of a farcical situation that has delayed the return of his $200,000 a year prop Jarrad Hickey by 20 days.
Man mountain Hickey's NRL return from a back injury has been put off because of a two-week break in the NSW Cup, which is widely regarded as a failure.
Moore also revealed that the NSWRL scheduling fiasco would delay the NRL returns of forgotten Bulldogs Jamal Idris, Lee Te Maari and Ben Barba.
"Hickey has been busting his arse to get back early and now he is fit to play but can't find a game," Moore said. "Our feeder side, the Bankstown Bulls, didn't play last weekend because of Easter and won't play this weekend because they have the bye. I would have picked Jarrad this week had he had a game under his belt."
NSW Cup teams only play 20 games compared to the NRL's 24, exposing a gaping hole between the Under 20s National Youth Competition and the NRL.
Moore's spray last night prompted ARL boss Geoff Carr to concede that the NSW Cup was a work in progress before saying he was open to a return to three-match game days.
"We need NRL clubs to support this competition," Carr said.
"We want to be the second tier NRL competition. Premier League was always the second competition but then the Under 20s started."
Moore slammed the NSW Cup as substandard and said only a few NYC players were ready for the NRL.
He claimed it was a major issue.
"The Queensland Cup is a far superior competition," Moore said.
"The Bulldogs have stayed loyal to the NSWRL but I don't know how much longer we can do that.
"I believe the players we send back to the NSW Cup are playing in a sub-standard competition.
"The quality is diluted by the fact there is another competition (The Bundaberg Red Cup) that is in direct competition with it.
"I can't get blokes fit or get a gauge of form. It is quite ridiculous. The word 'diabolic' is close to the mark. I can't get a bloke on the fringe of first grade into a regular, good quality competition."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25339997-5006066,00.html
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