When Pat Hart was asked to be the President of the Yanco-Wamoon RLFC for season 2024, the club was gone. On the brink of folding, the club lacked numbers and had already been given its standing 8 count. 53 years of a proud small-town footballing tradition appeared to be over. Enter Pat. At 69 years old, the now-retired humble local shire employee took on the … Continue reading 2023 Battlers of the Year – Pat and Kym Hart
By Tallon Smith The Woodbridge Cup will feature a record fourteen teams in 2024 after applications from the Blayney Bears and Cowra Magpies were accepted last week. The two Group 10 clubs played in the Peter McDonald Premiership Reserve Grade this season after they were unable to field First Grade teams due to the rapid rise in competition standard and salaries in the past few … Continue reading Two Group 10 clubs find new home for 2024 season
By Tallon Smith The Panorama Platypi put on a second half clinic against Orange Vipers to take out their third straight Western Women’s Rugby League title 38-16 at Jack Arrow Sporting Complex on Saturday November 25. After a fast start, the Platypi struggled to contain a resurgent Orange, who surged to a 12-10 half time lead, before the Bathurst-based side turned it all around in … Continue reading Panorama Platypi put on perfect second half for third straight WWRL premiership
By Tallon Smith After announcing a triumphant return to football just a matter of weeks ago, the Orara Valley Axemen have taken a different approach, announcing their intention to amalgamate with Bellingen-Dorrigo to form a more sustainable and competitive outfit in 2024 known as Combined Valleys. As both clubs have been in and out of the competition in recent seasons, the idea of fielding a … Continue reading Orara Valley and Bellingen-Dorrigo set to amalgamate to form new Group 2 outfit
By Tallon Smith In a major blow for rugby league in the region, the Limestone Coast Rugby League has entered recess for the 2023 season. A cross-border venture between NRL Victoria and NRL South Australia, the competition featured clubs on both sides of the border, until a failed 11th hour breakaway by the Victorian clubs left the once thriving spring league in tatters. President of … Continue reading Limestone Coast Rugby League enters recess after failed breakaway plot by Victorian clubs
By Tallon Smith Rugby league in Central Queensland is set for another shake-up after calls have resurfaced to again merge the Rockhampton and Gladstone District senior competitions. The two competitions have combined many times in the past, with the most recent period being from 2018 until 2022 (only at A Grade level), before the competitions split at the start of this year. Tannum Sands player … Continue reading Rockhampton and Gladstone competitions set to merge for good
By Tallon Smith The hunt for a successor to Andrew Hinchcliffe is over, with Mark Daly elected to the post of Group 9 President at the competition’s AGM in Wagga Wagga on Sunday. The change to the top job occurs at a critical time for the league, with two clubs looking to return to the competition after a difficult few years post-pandemic, and the lingering … Continue reading Mark Daly elected Group 9 President for 2024
By Tallon Smith Rugby league fans around the Macarthur region are in shock after the South West Goannas club were expelled from the competition for next season by the NSWRL and some of the Group 6 clubs. The start-up club, who competed in the Macarthur First Grade competition in 2023 and were undefeated premiers in the Gold Conference Competition in 2022, were voted out of … Continue reading “Doesn’t pass the pub test”: Club excluded from competition with no reasoning
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 … Continue reading Coolamon Raiders to bring Junior Rugby League back to Canola Way
By Tallon Smith Up in the Orara Valley surrounding the famous North Coast city of Coffs Harbour is the small town of Coramba. A lesser known location on the ‘Banana Coast,’ the village of just over 800 people is located 15 minutes from the city centre, and is home to the Orara Valley Axemen rugby league club. Famously supported by Hollywood A-Lister Russell Crowe, and … Continue reading Club Spotlight: Return of the Axemen
