GROUP Three chairman Wayne Bridge said the timing of the North Coast Women's Rugby League competition needs to be reviewed.
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This year's 11-a-side competition, played in opens, under 17s and 15s divisions, started on Saturday October 24 at Port Macquarie and will conclude on Saturday December 5 at Wauchope.
Teams from Group Two and Group Three are involved.
Mr Bridge said that 'generally' the competition has been successful although he agreed there have been concerns with forfeits or some sides playing short. There have been some blown out scores.
"Travel is a problem,'' he said.
There are teams involved from Wingham to Coffs Harbour. Rounds have been played at Sawtell, Wauchope, Wingham, Taree, Kempsey and Smithtown while the last two weeks will be at Coffs Harbour and Wauchope.
"We went to Smithtown last weekend for a game that lasts 40 minutes,'' the parent of one Taree player told the Times this week.
"There's just too much travel involved.''
"And I don't think some of the players are taking the competition as seriously as they should be,'' Mr Bridge added.
"Some teams start out keen, but interest seems to drop after a couple of games, especially as the weather gets warmer.''
He agrees that playing games in late November and early December isn't in the best interests of the players, especially with matches conducted in the afternoon.
He said that ideally the competition would be played in the cooler months, but this also presents problems with a clash with established sports.
Group Three chief executive Mal Drury said earlier that while the group is looking at way to further promote tackle rugby league for women, the league tag competition is not under threat. Group Three was a pioneer in the Country Rugby League in introducing league tag in 2009.
Mr Bridge added that pointscores aren't kept for the competitions and there'll be no prizes for sides topping the ladder.
"The competition is an introduction to tackle rugby league. That's what it's used for,'' he said.
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