By Tallon Smith

SHOCKWAVES have been sent through the Group 9 and Illawarra competitions as proud clubs Wagga Brothers and Helensburgh Tigers have confirmed they will not suit up in their respective first grade competitions this season.

The Brothers, who last won a Group 9 title way back in 1995, have been a consistent mid table side in the Group 9 competition for the past decade, however remaining the poorer cousin of their fellow clubs in the ‘City of Good Sports’, the Wagga Kangaroos and South City Bulls.

A proud and widely supported club, the Brothers have reportedly opted to play a single open men’s team in the Reserves competition, the Burmeister Shield, leaving the once five-club city with just two first grade rugby league sides in 2023, while the return of Junee to the playing field will see Group 9 remain stable at eight teams in the premier grade.

The Helensburgh side, founded in 1911 as one of regional New South Wales’ first rugby league clubs, have also withdrawn from the semi-professional Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup competition due to financial constraints, which forms part of the statewide third tier as a conference of the Presidents Cup. The Tigers have opted to drop down to the local First Division competition, playing against what are effectively the reserves sides of the Illawarra Cup teams, as well as local clubs such as Avondale, who much like Helensburgh are too good for the Second Division but would struggle in the top grade.

The withdrawal of the Tigers leaves the competition with just six teams, following the news that the Cronulla-Caringbah side would return to Sydney competitions in 2023. Collegians remain the team to beat when Wests, Dapto, Corrimal, Thirroul and De La Salle Caringbah challenge their status as the Illawarra’s premier team when the competition gets underway in the coming weeks.