By Tallon Smith

Rugby league will again be played on the Canola Way in 2024 after a proposal for the formation of the Coolamon Raiders Junior Rugby League Club was made last week.

Situated half an hour’s drive north-west of Wagga Wagga, Coolamon first played rugby league in 1935 and formerly had a team in the Kennedy Shield competition (Wagga Second Division) in the 20th century, however the town has long been an isolated stronghold of Aussie Rules, with the Coolamon Rovers founded in 1894 and competing in the Riverina Football League.

This is set to change though, with a proposal to form a Junior Rugby League club leading to an AGM to be held next Tuesday at the Coolamon Sport and Recreation Club.

Club founder and local teacher Tom Besgrove said that the driving force behind the creation of the club is derived from a range of factors.

“To be honest it’s kind of a combination of three things,” he said.

“Having three kids, I’ve got a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, and you want that opportunity for them if it’s something they choose to do.

“Being a PDHPE teacher at school, and through my time here I’ve seen some kids who play rugby league going to Wagga to play, and I know some of those kids, well the majority of them would have played in Coolamon if they could have.

“The other thing is that, probably on a personal level, I just love rugby league.”

Speaking on the ability to draw players from a small town with an established sporting scene, Besgrove said the formation of the club was all about offering the “opportunity” to play rugby league to the youth of Coolamon, and is not designed for competition with other sports.

“I know at the highest levels of everything they talk about sports having to compete against each other, and I get that, that’s the way of the world, but for us in our situation in Coolamon and what we want to do, it’s very much a town first, kid first mentality where you want to provide an opportunity for kids to do several sports if that’s what they want to do,” he said.

“I’ve played for Coolamon Rovers myself, and I was rugby league obviously born and bred, and never had a lot to do with AFL, and quite liked the sport, so [it’s] definitely just for kids who do just want to play rugby league, who perhaps don’t love some of the other sports that are offered.

“It’s just an opportunity to give [rugby league] a crack I think, and that’s the best part about it, it’s all about opportunity.”

Regarding the likely entry of teams into the Group 9 Junior League by the club next year, Besgrove said that he didn’t “want to put a ceiling” on the number this early.

“Look, at this stage if we were to get to next year and we were even just to have just one team, then that would be brilliant,” he said.

“You’ve got to start somewhere, and if that meant one side, regardless of age, it wouldn’t worry us, but going forward you’d definitely like to get a few teams if you could.

“I’d say at the minute, it’s probably looking like some younger league tag teams perhaps, probably like the Under 7s range.

“There’s definitely potential in the older tackle-style grades for teams, but at this point, like I say, we’re still right at the very beginning, so I don’t really want to put a ceiling on it, because there’s nothing to say we couldn’t end up with a couple of older teams.”

Besgrove said that there is also interest from surrounding towns along the Canola Way and further north on the Burley Griffin Way, where the Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong and Northern Jets Aussie Rules clubs have long held sway as the only local football teams.

“We have a lot of kids that play AFL and play soccer and cricket and all those types of sport and really enjoy it,” he said.

“I think particularly in the smaller surrounding towns, Ganmain is obviously a bit bigger, but your Ariah Parks and your Ardlethans, I think there could definitely be some kids who are interested.

“There’s been a few kids from Ganmain whose parents have registered that they are genuinely interested in playing, so that’s a good start.”

Another topic which has inevitably featured throughout discussions over the past few weeks is the prospect of a senior return, and while Besgrove loves the idea, his primary focus in the short term is building the junior base.

“It’s definitely a never say never thing,” he said.

“I know that the whole reason we’re called the Coolamon Raiders is because there was a rugby league club here back in the day, and they were the Coolamon Raiders, and quite a lot of the men who played in those teams, they’re still about in Coolamon, and they’ve still got the jerseys, they still care about it.

“So in terms of maybe eventually branching into a senior setup, you’d definitely never close the door on it, and to be honest you’d hope for it, [but] at this point, as an individual, I’m probably just focused on trying to get some juniors up and going and a club up and going.”

The Raiders’ first AGM will be held on November 28 at the Coolamon Sport and Rec Club from 6:30pm, with those planning to attend encouraged to RSVP by contacting Besgrove on 0457 688 175.