Townsville club interested in joining Cairns league competition
A Townsville club may still be in line to join the Cairns District Rugby League for a shortened 2020 season.
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A Townsville club may still be in line to join the Cairns and District Rugby League for a shortened 2020 season.
Townsville’s Norths Devils was one of two Townsville and District Rugby League clubs reported to be joining the Rugby League Mackay and District competition later this year.
On Tuesday, TDRL clubs voted to not go ahead with their season, with Norths and Brothers Townsville named Wednesday as joining RLMD.
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Norths coaching director Karl Adams said the Townsville-based club would leave no stone unturned as they searched for the best way to return to the field this year.
“Either way, we want to play football, but we need the time to make the right decision for us,” he said.
“I contacted the QRL and got advice and contacted both the Cairns and Mackay leagues on Wednesday.
“With Cairns, we might be able to use some of the grounds that are halfway (between Townsville and Cairns), so it would limit some of our travel, whereas the Mackay competition is limited to what they can do and accommodate.
“We will start training next Tuesday and gauge interest from players so we can weigh up our options.
“We want to get feedback about whether they could travel that far with other commitments, whether it be family or work. It will likely be a full day with travel if we went to either competition.”
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CDRL operations manager Pat Bailey said Norths would be more than welcome to play in the Far North league.
“Our door is open,” she said.
“We’ll look at anybody that wants to come and play in Cairns as well.”
Despite CDRL clubs making a decision to cancel the 2020 season at a meeting in June, following the early relaxation of community sport restrictions from noon this Friday, Bailey said it was not too late for a competition to go ahead.
Cairns Brothers, Tully Tigers and Ivanhoe Knights have all expressed interest in taking the field in some capacity this year, while Intrust Super Cup club Northern Pride are also training with the intention to play games.
CDRL officials will meet with club representatives on Monday evening to discuss a potential return and the prospect of clubs from other districts joining the competition temporarily.
“They are encouraged to ask questions and bring any suggestions for what we could do moving forward, but they must take into account 2021 as well,” Bailey said.
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“We’ve got to think about the future and make sure we can all get back on the field again next year.”
Originally published as Townsville club interested in joining Cairns league competition