Penrith punish rusty Roosters
3 hours ago | Aidan Edgecomb
There has been some public discussion over the past weeks relating to the rugby league structure of the Dragons for 2007 and beyond. A decision, arising from discussions between the Board of Directors, Management, Coaching Staff and our Rugby League Executive, has been made to NOT ENTER a team in the New South Wales Rugby League?s Jersey Flegg competition in 2007.
We should note that discussion on such a strategic rugby league decision had been taking place for a long period of time. It was agreed that our Club should move quickly and effectively to prepare for the code?s overall re-structure, planned for 2008 which will see the introduction of the widely discussed National Youth Competition - an Under 20 competition where all NRL teams will have an Under 20 team to play prior to their matches for each of the 26 weeks of the regular season.
The ?big picture? perspective on these changes related to the need to;
- establish a more ?National? rugby league perspective in competitions, across all 16 NRL teams, not just NSW based teams
- re-structure the ?NSW? rugby league competitions so they can continue to be effective for rugby league, from the grass roots to the elite level
- ensure that NRL Clubs continue to improve their financial viability
Therefore, the St George Illawarra Dragons will field only two competitive teams in 2007,
- NRL
- Premier League
In 2008, the Under 20s will be back through the National Youth Competition, along with the NRL team ? again only two teams fielded by the Dragons.
As normal, St George District Rugby League Club and the Illawarra Steelers will field Matthews and Ball teams in 2007 and beyond ? a very important of our ?Pathway Management?.
By 2008, the ?Pathway? for rugby league players in the St George Illawarra region will be as depicted by the following chart: