Group three rugby league officials will meet with NSWRL women's participation officer, Kylie Hilder at a date to be confirmed to discuss the possibility of kicking off a women's tackle competition this year.
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This could involve sides from groups two and three.
"We were going to meet last week but Kylie postponed it to see what was happening in group two,'' group three chairman, Wayne Bridge explained.
It was confirmed this week there would be no group three competition this season, clubs citing concerns about COVID-19 restrictions, the possibility of losing sponsorships and uncertainty as to whether crowds would be able to attend matches.
In May group three clubs voted against playing a competition this year for the same reasons.
Mr Bridge said it would now be possible to gauge interest in running a women's tackle competition on the Mid North Coast.
Mrs Hilder previously told the Great Lakes Advocate publisher, Australian Community Media the format could be nines, 11s or 13-a-side.
The Hastings league has conducted a women's competition in recent season while last year the Hastings league and group three combined to run a nines in October/November.
However, this was disrupted by the bushfire crisis that gripped the area.
As well as introducing players to tackle football, Mr Bridge said the proposed competition could also be used as a pathway for the North Coast representative side to play in next year's Country Championships.
However, he said it would be unlikely women's league tag games would be played in conjunction with the tackle competition.
Mrs Hilder said a tackle competition could potentially start in September or even earlier if there is sufficient interest.
We were going to meet last week but Kylie postponed it to see what was happening in group two.
- Wayne Bridge
Mr Bridge expects East Coast region manager Kevin Hill would be involved in the meeting.
Cancellation of the group two competition means there'll be no men's senior rugby league played between Forster-Tuncurry and Grafton this year.
However, group three under 18s have been accepted into the group three junior competition to kick off on Saturday, July 18.
Mr Bridge understands that all eight clubs will nominate for the 11 week under 18 competition to culminate in the grand final on Sunday, September 27.
He added that the under 18 competition would also be used as a guide for selection of the Laurie Daley Shield team for next season's Country Championships.
League tag for girls in the under 13s 15s and 17s divisions would also be played with the junior league.
These games are scheduled for Friday evenings.
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