Kemp coached the Laurie Daley Cup (under 18) side and oversaw the preparation of the men's team. He was speaking after Bulldogs bowed out of the men's championship when thrashed 52-10 by Illawarra South Coast at Taree.

The Bulldogs had to win by 12 points to qualify for the semi-finals. However, by halftime that dream was over with Illawarra leading 24-4.

Kemp has been a successful coach of Port City in the Group Three competition for a number of years. He believes there are enough players in the region for it to be a major contender for championship honours. However, changes are needed, he stressed.

"We need to put a bit more prep into this level of footy and we need more commitment from the players,'' he said.

"We need an actual program like we have for the under 16s and 18s.''

He conceded there were problems out of the region's control for this year. The decision to return to an open men's representative format wasn't announced until late last year. This left the region scrambling to find players for the squad.

"We had a couple of training runs before the game and we didn't have any trials,'' Kemp said.

"These other sides are too strong at this level. You have to put in the prep to be competitive.''

Kemp was taking nothing away from the players who made themselves available for the representative season. North Coast lost the opening round match the previous week but were competitive against Central Coast. "They had a red hot go,'' he said.

But Kemp agreed that the side that took on Illawarra South Coast last Saturday wouldn't have been the best from the players in Groups Two and Three.

"Again we didn't get that luxury of having a selection process,'' Kemp said.

"We didn't have a Group Two/Group Three trial going into the competition. This was a side thrown together, made up of boys who felt like a run.''

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