2023 player survey: NSW’s local footy players have their say on the big issues in rugby league

The tough questions were put out to the local rugby league players of NSW and they responded. Here are the full results from the 2023 NSW Local Footy Player Survey.

The results from the 2023 NSW Local Footy Player Survey.

We put the tough questions out to players and they responded in droves in our first Local Footy NSW Player Survey.

Here are the key takeaways of what the players in local leagues had to say about the state of the game.

Newcastles celebrate their win in Men's Country Championships grand final. It was overwhelmingly voted the strongest league in NSW. Picture: Sue Graham

STRONGEST LEAGUE

There was an overwhelming response when asked what the strongest league in New South Wales was.

Newcastle was a clear winner with 61.8 per cent of the vote, followed by Illawarra (8.8 per cent), Central Coast (7.8 per cent) and Penrith (4.9 per cent).

When asked if they were happy with the standard of league they play in, 57.7 per cent of respondents said they were.

Views on the standard of refereeing were mixed. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

REFEREEING STANDARDS

As for the standard of refereeing, just under half of players said that it was currently poor (39.8 per cent), with 50 per cent believing it was fair and 10.2 per cent stating it was excellent.

KEEPING A-GRADE ALIVE

A staggering 70.4 per cent of players said that not enough was being done by NSWRL and local leagues to keep A-grade competitions thriving.

This was in stark contrast to the 9.3 per cent that said they were doing enough, and 20.3 per cent who said they somewhat were.

Kids and officials in the Manly district, including Manly Cove, Narraweena, Narrabeen, Christian Brothers, North Curl Curl, Mona Vale, Harbord and Forestville came together to voice their concerns about tackle bans. Picture: Peter Bowes

TACKLE BANS

The answer as to if players believe there should be a tackling ban in younger grades is a resounding no.

87.2 per cent of respondents did not support plans for the banning of the tackle in youth age groups, compared to just 12.8 per cent who believed they should be enforced.

HEAD KNOCKS

Concussions and head knocks have been a hot topic of discussion in contact sports, and increasingly players are starting to take notice.

42.4 per cent of players said that head knocks are something that worries them about the game, with 57.6 per cent not worried.

Concussions are a growing issue in the local game. Picture: Zak Simmonds

KEY ISSUES

When it comes to the big issues in the sport, players weren’t scared to take a backwards step.

One of the common themes was money and the payment of players, with some believing this takes away from the enjoyment and equity of leagues.

The quality of refereeing was another one brought up multiple times, as was forcing A-grade to play on Sundays, with some believing it takes away from their weekends and others having to wake up sore for work on Monday.

Following on from the question about leagues and the governing body doing enough to keep A-grade alive, poor administration was another key concern raised on multiple occasions.

Other responses from players included:

* Losing players to bigger clubs

* Not enough being done to keep 17-18 year olds in the game

* Crowd behaviour

* Leagues Club teams cannibalising smaller clubs

* Under the table payments

* Disparity between the best and worst teams