Proposal: How to restart Rugby League in Aussie Rules’ Southern Riverina heartland

By Tallon Smith

The Group 13 district was once a stronghold of Rugby League in the 20th century.

Located to the south of Wagga Wagga, the competition ran from 1946 until 1991, with clubs from Albury, Holbrook, Culcairn, Henty, Lockhart, Tumbarumba, Batlow and many other towns.

However, the competition declined significantly in its latter years, down to a low of just six clubs and two grades.

The competition was absorbed by Group 9 in 1992, with only four of Group 13’s clubs surviving into the new competition and just two still competing in Group 9 today (Albury and Wagga Brothers), with the rest of the region going from an area where both codes flourished to a stronghold of Australian rules, largely due to being forgotten by Rugby League.

Another Second Division competition in the area, the Kennedy Shield, also folded in the mid 1990s after containing multiple clubs in the Wagga Wagga district, including from towns that did not field Group 9 teams.

This proposal, devised by Battlers For Bush Footy, is designed to bring the game of Rugby League back to the area, whilst avoiding any potential conflict with the Group 9 and Tumut Old Boys 9s competitions so as to strengthen rather than weaken the game.

The Proposal

The Eastern Riverina Community Cup competition is designed to be similar in style to the ProTen Community Cup, with the aim of bringing Rugby League back to the Group 13 area much like the ProTen competition did in the Group 17 district.

The season would run after the conclusion of the Group 9, Group 20 and Goulburn Murray competitions, with matches to be held as double headers under lights on Saturday nights in October (to avoid the heat).

The ideal number of teams is four teams, which would create a round robin of three games, followed by a Grand Final (accompanied by a third-place playoff), meaning every team plays four games.

Each team would host one matchday per year, with this format meaning only one big day of volunteer effort is needed per club.

Match length would be 60 minutes, split into two 30-minute halves, and matches would be played under the safeplay code.

The competition would be open to all players, including Aussie Rules players after their season ends, and would be more focused on bringing footy back to these small towns than creating an ultra-competitive environment.

With a lack of rugby league grounds remaining in the area with lights, matches initially could be played at Wagga’s McDonald’s Park.

Potential Clubs

Coolamon Raiders

The Coolamon Raiders would be one of the flagship foundation clubs of any potential second division competition in the Wagga Wagga district. Despite the town being an Australian Rules stronghold since 1894, when the Coolamon Rovers were founded, it does have Rugby League history. Founded in 1981, and previously competing in the Kennedy Shield competition based around Wagga Wagga, the Coolamon Raiders went into recess in the mid 1990s, and haven’t played a match since.

With a junior club being established in the town this season, there has been a push in the town to restart the senior club in the coming years. If a Community Cup competition was to form in the Wagga/Group 9 district, re-establishing a club in Coolamon would certainly be a critical factor in its success.

Coolamon saw the launch of its first junior rugby league club this year (*Photo: Coolamon Raiders JRLC Facebook*)

Lockhart Bulldogs

Another strong Australian Rules town these days, Lockhart is another town which modern Rugby League may have forgotten, but has a storied history in the 13-man code. Competing in Group 20 from the 1950s, Lockhart later moved to Group 13, playing in a Grand Final as recently as 1971, before folding in the late 1970s.

Known as the ‘Bulldogs’ and wearing both red and blue and maroon and white uniforms over their history, it would make sense to name the club that again if they were to return as a nod to the past. Posts in Lockhart community pages on Facebook have garnered significant support for a Rugby League team in the district, so the team re-forming in the next few years may not be too much of a far-flung prospect.

Holbrook Warriors

Holbrook is another town with a rich Rugby League history stretching over many decades throughout the 20th century. Holbrook played in the Group 13 Rugby League competition from the 1930s until the 1980s, playing against teams from Culcairn, Tarcutta, Albury, Wagga Wagga, Tumbarumba, Lockhart and Batlow just to name a few. Holbrook won six Group 13 First Grade Premierships, in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1967 and 1968, while they also finished runners-up four times, in 1952, 1958, 1961 and 1964. Their last triumph was a 15-7 victory over Tarcutta in the 1968 Grand Final at Greenfield Park in Albury.

In the club’s later years, they became known as the “Bears”, wearing the colours of NSWRL club North Sydney. The club later left Group 13 a few years before the competition folded in 1991. Holbrook then competed in the Kennedy Shield, the Wagga Second Division competition, as the “Warriors”, playing against smaller clubs like the Coolamon Raiders and pub teams from Wagga, before the club and competition ceased before the turn of the century. These days the only winter team sport in town is Australian Rules, played by the Holbrook Brookers in the Hume Football League, however with many local juniors travelling into Albury and Wagga to play the 13-man game, Rugby League still retains a great following in the town, and a potential return to the field as part of an Eastern Riverina Community Cup competition remains a strong possibility.

The Holbrook Warriors competed in the Kennedy Shield in the 1990s (*Photo: History of Holbrook Rugby League Club Facebook*)

Tarcutta Tigers/Maroons

Another potential entrant to the competition would be a Tarcutta-based outfit. Awarded the coveted Clayton Cup as the Country Rugby League side with the best record in 1969, Tarcutta was a force in Group 13 throughout the mid-20th century. The club was founded in 1935, and won two more premierships during their tenure in the competition, in 1962 and 1965, before folding in the 1970s.

Able to draw on Wagga players without affecting the existing Group 9 sides, as the competition will be held post-season, a Tarcutta side is a realistic possibility should an Eastern Riverina Community Cup gain the necessary support to form. The Tigers is a possible moniker for alliteration purposes, or the club could revert to its original name of the Maroons (if Lockhart chooses to play in its blue and red strip).

Tarcutta won the Clayton Cup as the best side in Country NSW in 1969 (*Image: Mervyn Gumbleton*/*Facebook*)

Other Potential Teams

Other potential entrants to an Eastern Riverina Community Cup competition include the Adelong-Batlow Bears either combined or as separate sides, Tumbarumba if they choose to leave the Goulburn Murray League for a more local competition.

Other options include a Culcairn-Henty side, a men’s side from the Estella Storm club, or a University team at CSU.

Case Study: Western Riverina Community Cup (Group 17)

Group 17 was a First Grade Rugby League competition similar to Group 13 in its heyday, which ran from the 1930s until 2006.

After the demise of Group 17 in 2006, the district went without footy for twelve years.

That was until one day, two blokes, one from Rankins Springs and one from Goolgowi, met for a beer and discussed the possibility of re-forming the competition.

Thus, the Western Riverina Community Cup (or ProTen Community Cup) was born, featuring six clubs formerly involved in the Group 17 competition: the Barellan Rams, Goolgowi Rabbitohs, Hillston Bluebirds, Ivanhoe Roosters, Narrandera Lizards and the Rankins Springs Dragons.

The competition runs for six weeks during winter, with every club hosting one triple-header matchday followed by finals (Rugby League is much stronger than Aussie Rules in this region and is able to play during winter).

The competition is played under the safeplay code originally designed for Junior and Masters football, meaning the defensive line is 5 metres back rather than 10 to reduce collision force, and only a maximum of two defenders can be involved in a tackle.

The competition has flourished since, and is looking at adding another team in Deniliquin next season.

The format has been replicated in vicinity of Bathurst and Lithgow to continue the tradition of the Mid West Cup competition, and has grown from four to seven sides in 2024 off the back of a successful season last year.