Premiership-winning mentor Matt Lantry fears for the future of the President’s Cup format following a rival’s shock withdrawal from the competition.
The head coach’s all-conquering Maitland Pickers was scheduled to tackle Illawarra champions Thirroul Butchers at the Maitland Regional Sportsground on Saturday 16 September.
But, the Tooheys Newcastle Rugby League (Real NRL) club received notification on Monday that its South Coast opponents had forfeited the clash, meaning the back-to-back Denton Engineering Cup titleholders would progress directly to this month’s grand final.
Lantry said Thirroul’s decision was a tough pill to swallow.
“We’ve been told it’s due to player availability,” he explained.
“However, it’s hugely disappointing for the Pickers.
“We had a massive day planned.
“The Maitland Blacks, who took out the Hunter Rugby crown, and the Maitland Magpies Football Club were attending; and we were keen to engage the Maitland Mustangs and their premiership basketball side.
“We wanted to stage a real community event, involving several successful local sporting groups.
“Now, it’s been taken away from us.
“No doubt, we would’ve attracted our biggest crowd of the season… on the back of what we’ve achieved, winning the competition in such a dominant display.
“We could have come back out in front of our home fans for the last time this year and hosted a number of other organisations in our community.
“It was the perfect chance to showcase them as well, particularly the union players and basketballers.
“We’ve been robbed of that.
“So, it leaves a bit of a sour taste in our mouth.
“Unfortunately, we can’t control that now.
“We’ll just focus on what we need to do in a week-and-a-half’s time.”
Lantry admitted he questioned where the President’s Cup was headed after the Butchers’ desertion.
“I’m really worried about the longevity of it,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.
“I don’t feel like every area’s invested in the concept the way they should be.
“Maybe playing it between the winners of the Real NRL and Ron Massey Cup is the best way to go moving forward.
“A fortnight after each competition ends, to find out who’s the premier team in the state.
“With no disrespect to the Peter McDonald premiers, it’s unlikely they’ll compete.
“They might win one in every 10 (games)… however, it is just not the standard that Newcastle and Sydney are currently at.
“I’m all for supporting bush footy but I believe if we want to do something, it needs to be a better format that’s capable of catering for all levels.”
Lantry expressed his concern over the workload, or lack of, for his players in the lead-up to the decider, too.
“When you talk about [player] welfare, we’ll have played six matches in three months,” he said.
“We really needed a game this weekend.
“So far, we’ve played three in the past seven weeks, six in the past 12.
“We’re suffering from a complete lack of rugby league.
“Yeah, you can train, but as we know, there’s nothing better than playing week-to-week.
“It is a real delicate situation for us to manage over the next fortnight; however, we’ll get on with it.
“But, as I said, there needs to be some serious discussions between each representative of the NSWRL – Newcastle, Sydney, Central/Regional NSW and the Illawarra – and work out where this concept is heading because I fear that made it may not last.”
The Maitland Pickers will contest the President’s Cup on either 23 or 24 September.
For more sports stories:
- A GOOD SPORT: Pickers pull ahead of their counterparts
- VIDEO: Ugly crowd brawl mars Newcastle league decider
- NRL: Knights’ gutsy finals crusade continues
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