Country rugby league: Wellington Cowboys issue ‘call to arms’ to remain in the Western Premiership
The hometown club of Kotoni Staggs and a host of other NRL stars has put out a call to arms for players to join next season amid concerns it could be removed from top-line bush footy.
The hometown club of the likes of Kotoni Staggs, Tyrone Peachey and rugby league legend Terry Fahey has put out a “call to arms” for players to sign up for next season amid concerns it could be removed from top-line football.
The Wellington Cowboys, who play in the Peter McDonald Premiership, the Western division’s premier rugby league competition, have appealed to prospective male and female footballers to join the club as it attempts to meet requirements to play in the division.
“It’s a call to arms. We’re calling on a show of faith in the club that’s given lots of people over the years an opportunity,” said Wellington vice-president Tony Wilson.
“It’s easy when things get a bit tough to turn their back on Wellington and go and look somewhere else. But when I played we have some good sides and some weaker sides, and when the rough times came we all sort of stuck together and just got on the field and played,” he added.
“I can’t stress enough how important these next few months are in determining our future as a club.”
Under PMP rules, clubs are required to enter teams in each of the four grades of ladies league tag, under-18s, reserves and first grade in order to register.
The Cowboys were given dispensation by the board this year despite failing to enter a league tag team, however club officials have warned they may be relegated from the PMP in 2026 if the situation isn’t addressed.
“We didn’t have a league tag team this year so we need to make sure we’ve got numbers for ‘26,” said Wilson.
“I’ve got two coaches who have already reached out to potentially coach the team so we just need a bit of a show of support from people in our community or women and girls who are in other clubs and aren’t getting enough gametime.”
While Wellington was highly competitive in the top grade this year, finishing fifth in the strong PMP and falling two games short of the decider, concerns over men’s player numbers have also been heightened on the back of a couple of high-profile departures.
It was recently announced that former NRL star and local junior Blake Ferguson would leave to join rivals Orange CYMS, while captain-coach Justin Toomey-White has also departed the club.
This has led to concerns that others could follow them out the door and create a strain on player numbers, particularly in the lower grade.
“Reserve grade players are always a bit of a premium. We’d like to have bucketloads but we ebb and flow,” said Wilson.
Despite the upheaval over the off-season and the club’s public call for footballers to sign up, Wilson wanted to dispel the idea that the Cowboys were going “down the tubes”.
“I just want to clarify, it’s not all doom and gloom,” he said.
“We’re just making everybody aware of a couple of things and the bigger picture: the plight of smaller clubs in the PMP and potentially how the smaller clubs do suffer for player numbers and drawing capacity with financial restraints and things like that.”
In addition to multiple candidates expressing interest in the league tag coaching role, Wilson said the club had also been in talks with two high-profile local rugby league figures for the first grade job.
“We’ll be well staffed, we just need the numbers to turn up and register,” he said.
“I was really pleasantly surprised. I got three different messages in my inbox from women inquiring about playing league tag next year.”
Wellington’s situation is not uncommon in country rugby league as several clubs in small towns find it difficult to meet the demands of fielding multiple teams in Group football.
In recent years the likes of Cowra has dropped out of the PMP to join the second-tier Woodbridge Cup, while on the Mid-North Coast clubs like the Orara Valley Axemen and Bellingen Valley-Dorrigo Magpies joined the second-tier Hastings League from Group 2 after failing to meet various requirements.
With Wellington’s junior rugby league in a strong place to help build for the future, Wilson suggested that a greater sense of flexibility from administrators would be helpful for clubs like his.
“The new combined Peter McDonald Premiership is a really good concept. I think the level of footy is excellent, it’s a really strong competition. But the PMP board do have a set of rules and stipulations around having to have four grades to be able to compete,” he said.
“Now for little towns like us and Nyngan and Lithgow, sometimes that becomes a bit of a challenge. But it ebbs and flows.
“My advice to the PMP board would be to just let the clubs roll with those numbers for a little while before things start to steady up, because after a tough time eventually things turn around, you get back up on your feet and numbers turn up.”
While second-tier football could be an option for Wellington if it can’t secure numbers for all four grades, Wilson said the club owes it to some of its greatest sons – which include Kangaroos representatives Terry Fahey and Kotoni Staggs – to remain a top-flight side.
“Per capita, our club has produced some the best footballers that have ever graced the turf,” he said.
“Terry Fahey, Kotoni Staggs – you could name a million. Michael Peachey, Martin Peachey, Luke Shaw, Paul Shaw, Steven Shaw. All those guys grew up in Wellington, that’s our little town.
“And that would be the real sad element if our club was to be removed from the PMP: their legacy and the foundation that those fellas laid for us to enjoy what we have over nearly 80 years.
“Next year will be the 80th anniversary of Wellington being in Group 11, since 1946. So it’d be really good if people band around us and help us celebrate that 80th year because the club’s very special and we’ve got to work our butts off to make sure that the club’s still around.”
Originally published as Country rugby league: Wellington Cowboys issue ‘call to arms’ to remain in the Western Premiership
Seven Wests Tigers threaten to quit if coach walks
