Dora Creek Swampies: Newcastle Upper Hunter rugby league clubs respond to accusations of collusion, dodgy player payments

A bitter bush footy feud has thrown the Newcastle Upper Hunter Rugby League competition into turmoil, as clubs respond to suggestions of collusion, accusing the Dora Creek Swampies of dodgy player payments.

Rival clubs have fired back at the Dora Creek Swampies, accusing them of 'dodgy' player payments.

It’s the bush footy civil war that’s descended into accusations of dodgy player payments, financial bumbling, injury fears and threats of forfeits in the finals.

The Newcastle Hunter Rugby League A-Grade competition has erupted again after premiership powerhouse Dora Creek – who have contested the past four grand finals — last week claimed rival clubs were colluding to forfeit against them.

Three clubs — Windale, University and Kotara — who have consistently forfeited to Dora Creek this season, say they are terrified their players will suffer injuries against a Swampies team they claim are paying players through a “technicality.”

Angry Swampies coach David Hoban lobbed a grenade back at his rival clubs, declaring: “Well open up our books to any club — we’re not hiding anything.”

This masthead revealed last week that the Dora Creek Swampies, premiers for the past three seasons, have been forced to endure five forfeits in nine games this year due to their dominance.

Upper Hunter rugby league clubs have accused Dora Creek of dodgy player payments, after the Swampies claimed their rivals were colluding to deliberately forfeit games.

“We have a duty of care to our players. We have some kids and inexperienced players and Dora Creek is a very strong, mobile, big side. We are looking after our boys,” Kotara Bears president Brett Atkins said.

“You (face) potential injuries, and then you get hit with a loss of work, insurance claims, it’s just not worth it. We definitely don’t want to play them.

“We were supposed to be graded into C Grade but our competition committee, for whatever reason, saw fit to put us in A Grade.

“We would only (be scheduled to) play Dora Creek again if we make the finals and I’m highly doubtful we would (choose to) play them, even in the semis. We have left it up to our players. We have made a stance and that doesn’t change.

“I just think people have had enough. This has been building for the past three years.

“There’s got to be some decent money getting thrown around from Dora Creek. Competition rules allow you to only pay your captain-coach. It’s not meant to be that type of competition. It’s meant to be an amateur competition. I’m not sure there’s any collusion from the other clubs but definitely not from us.”

Windale Eagles president Clint Martin also had a crack at Dora Creek.

“I don’t want to criticise anybody but when it comes to crying about no-one wanting to play you, it becomes a little bit personal when you’re aiming that at clubs who are really struggling,” Martin said.

“If they want to pay players, so be it, but there’s no collusion on our behalf. If you have a look at their roster, the rumours are that they are paying a lot more than a couple of the Newcastle first-grade clubs. You’re not supposed to be paying players at all.

“They’ve got third parties paying the players for them. It’s a technicality which gives them a big, unfair advantage. There is also a safety issue for the players.

“There were a couple of players that the Macquarie Scorpions (who compete in the Newcastle first-grade competition) went to sign, they offered them $800 a win but the players turned around and said they were going to Dora Creek to get more money.

“You get clubs who do it on occasions, to buy a comp, and it seems like Dora Creek have been doing it for the last three or four years. For us, personally, we don’t pay our players at all. There have been other clubs paying as well.

“It is a bit disappointing. I can understand Dora Creek’s frustration in not playing but they’ve got to understand where other clubs are coming from. Even though our team is running last at the moment we have every intention to play them in the final round.

The Dora Creek Swampies have dominated the competition in recent years, playing in the last four grand finals and winning three of them.

“We shouldn’t be in A Grade this year, we haven’t got the players. We have a lot of players who have never played top-standard football. We have been really low on numbers all year.”

Hoban denied his rivals’ claims and explained where payments were coming from.

“If there’s a duty of care then why do those teams play against all the other teams? We’ve been beaten by Waratah this year and those teams are still playing them — it’s only Dora Creek they’re not playing,” Hoban said.

“Our club does not pay the players any money but we have private sponsors that look after players with certain things. We’re not going to hide that from anyone.

“We are more than happy to open up our books to any club. At the start of every season, every club has to give the NSWRL a copy of their statement of accounts and we supply that every year.

Swampies coach David Hoban accused rival clubs of collusion.

“The problem with some of the clubs is that they don’t even understand what a general ledger is, a financial statement of accounts, so how can they run a football club and the finances?”

University Seahorses secretary Brock O’Sullivan also denied any collusion to forfeit games.

“The only reason we forfeited was we didn’t have enough players,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve probably got 20 less players than last year.

“There’s been no talk with all other clubs about forfeiting. We don’t have an issue with them.

“I’m not too sure (why Dora Creek said there was collusion). It’s a pub comp so people talk.

“I don’t talk to anyone from Dora Creek, I don’t talk to anyone from any other club.”