https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/local-sport/access-for-fans-and-sponsors-will-determine-whether-isc-north-conference-is-a-go-ahead/news-story/c446763d35b181892efc2049a908c383 RUGBY league is on the horizon for North Queensland fans. The four regional Queensland Cup clubs have banded together to lay the foundations of a competition for later this year. While it is still in the early stages of planning, the competition is driven by a desire to get players time on the field and give clubs a goal to work towards. The ‘northern championship’ would include the North Queensland Cowboys three feeder clubs — Townsville Blackhawks, Northern Pride and Mackay Cutters — as well as Central Queensland Capras. While he has backed the concept in initial negotiations, Blackhawks football operations manager Adrian Thomson said it would be imperative that fans could get back in the stands for the competition to be viable. Thomson said the four-club competition needed to be about giving something back to the members and sponsors who have stood by them throughout the coronavirus pandemic. For that to occur, several restrictions on social distancing would need to be lifted — a decision at the discretion of the state government. “There’s a number of things that need to be addressed, it’s in the infant stages but it’s really promising the four clubs (are on board),” Thomson said.
“We’ve really got to get people through our gates for revenue, but number one is getting our sponsors and members through the gates and paying them back for sticking very solid with us. “Our leagues club would have to be open and revenue coming into the place. It won’t take that long to get organised, it’s the nitty gritty things when we get a date from the government." Thomson appreciates some government restrictions will likely still be in place later this year regardless of how the situation develops. However should Queensland return to gatherings of no more than 500 people, that could present an avenue to get the northern championship up and running. Aside from benefiting supporters and sponsors, he said giving the players something to compete for would serve them well heading into 2021. They are “caged lions at the moment” and the option is still alive for local competitions in each region to resume at some stage. But Thomson said this could present some challenges for tournaments such as the Townsville and District Rugby League if Blackhawks players began filtering through the seven clubs. With such highly rated players coming back to their local roots, they would be taking spots from athletes simply looking to feature at an A-grade level. They could get disgruntled, move clubs and ultimately lose interest for future seasons. It makes the northern championship a more tantalising theory, particularly for squad members who are pushing for NRL exposure. “Who knows what’s going ahead with NRL salary cap and squad sizes, so I think our competition becomes even more relevant,” Thomson said. “We need to be a really solid reserve grade competition for the NRL. It serves a purpose for all players getting the exposure they probably wouldn’t. “We’ve really got to go through a lot of hurdles before that comes into play, but we are planning.”
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AuthorOne of my main responsibilities was to cover the Blackhawks and Gold Stars and build strong relationships at the club. Archives
May 2020
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