THE coaches have spoken - the Group 3 rugby league pre-season tournament is a waste of time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wauchope Blues coach Anthony Boyd and Port City Breakers counterpart Dan Kemp don't see the point of this weekend and next weekend's trial matches.
Both teams will face off on Saturday at Regional Stadium, but they would rather they didn't have to face each other in a compulsory fixture before the season kicked off.
"I don't see the point in playing sides you play in the competition proper; it's silly," Boyd said.
"We normally play a Newcastle side, but they could only play these next two weekends and we told them we couldn't."
Kemp would like to see pre-season fixtures handed back to the clubs to control.
"We'd like to be able to trial as much or as little as we went; I hate we have to play clubs like Port and Wauchope because they're our special games," he said.
Playing such fixtures as a pre-season trial diminished the local derby feel once the competition started.
"I've got blokes that refuse to play trials against Wauchope or Port because they don't see the point," Kemp said.
"Why can't we be told when the competition kicks off and then we meet and play for something that means something."
What else is happening in sport?
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.
