Junior Rugby League poised to break their own record

Hundreds of juniors took park in the Roma and District Junior Rugby League march to kick off the footy season, and even more will be taking to the field.

Benderoo Bulls in the Roma and District Junior Rugby League season opening parade.

THE small yet mighty footy players in the west are carrying the torch for the Roma and District Junior Rugby League.

Thanks to staggering numbers in some of its youngest grades, this year’s footy season could become one of the biggest on record for participation.

The prospect of another record season has parents and organisers thrilled, and league president Justin Garvie can’t wait to offer even more kids the chance to get in the game.

“We are anticipating to have about 550 kids from the under sixes right through to the under 14s, which is a jump from last year, and we still have more coming in,” he said.

“Last year was a record season with 520, so we are looking to build on that even more this time.”

So what is the key to smashing a record in junior rugby league?

For Garvie, it is getting the players started early; he told The Western Star each club has a strong contingent of under 6s and 8s, but another age group has also surprised them with their level of participation.

“(Having so many players) is really encouraging for all of us – the sixes and eights are really strong, and we have plenty of participation in the under 14s,” he said.

“At first, it looked like we were only going to have four teams from that group in the competition, but now we are pushing it to six teams.

“That includes players from Charleville and St George who are playing for the Mitchell team, and players from Wandoan coming across to join with Benderoo.”

Combining players from other clubs is still a relatively new concept for the RDJRL, but after finding success in last year’s season, they were more than happy to welcome the extra players back to the clubhouse.

It has become particularly important for the young people who come from further afield, where there aren’t enough kids to form full teams.

“This is all about giving them the opportunity,” Garvie said.

“Especially in those older age groups it gives them not only more games, but also a pathway towards things like the representative teams as well – that will of course get sorted once we settle in to our season.”

EVERY TEAM: Roma and District Junior Rugby League march into round one

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