Exclusion sparks anger in league
PA Auckland News of the exclusion of a New Zealand team from Australia’s midweek National Panasonic Cup rugby league competition has been greated by anger and disappointment among officials of the code in this country.
A New Zealand team will not be included in the lucrative knock-out series next year, although official advice of this has yet to be received by the New Zealand Rugby League. A press announcement made in Sydney yesterday is understood to have suggested the move had been made because of the alleged non-competitiveness of New Zealand teams. Auckland crashed to lowly Western Suburbs 32-10 in this year’s series and Central Districts was thrashed 50-0 by the now
defunct Newtown in the 1983 competition. The Auckland selectorcoach, Mr Bob Bailey, said yesterday: “I am really annoyed and irritated that we are regarded as not competitive. “If we had all our Auckland players who are now playing overseas in the team, we would be close to a test side. “It is only since we began selling our best players overseas that we have been weakened.” The Auckland Rugby League chairman, Mr
George Rainey, said: “We have six of our test players in Australian football and five in England. All but one of them comes from Auckland.” Neither the president of the New Zealand league, Mr Ron McGregor, nor the Kiwi coach, Mr Graham Lowe, was surprised at the omission of a New Zealand team. They were, nevertheless, disappointed. “It is their (the Australians’) competition, and they can run it the way they want to,” said Mr McGregor.
“But I would have felt there could have been some accommodation. We won’t know what to do exactly until we receive their official advice.” Mr Lowe said he regarded the National Panasonic Cup as one means of New Zealand sides developing to bridge the gap between the standard of Sydney football and that in this country. Mr McGregor is expected to discuss the issue when he meets New South Wales Rugby League officials next week.
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Press, 25 September 1985, Page 76
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340Exclusion sparks anger in league Press, 25 September 1985, Page 76
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