Rugby league fans weigh in on Peter McDonald Premiership draw

Analysis done by ACM showed that in roughly two out of every three rounds, there would be at least one club whose first grade side would either play on a different day, or at a different town, to their reserve grade, league tag and under 18s sides.

The draw alteration came after Cowra pulled out of the first grade competition, joining the Blayney Bears as clubs which would not compete in the top division in 2023. Since what was thought to be the final edition of the draw came out just days prior to the start of the season, there have been even more alterations, but the theme of clubs being split up remains the same.

It didn't take long for this to come into play, with the Orange Hawks first grade side opening their season with a game on Sunday in Parkes - a 40-14 loss to the Spacemen - while their reserves and league tag players took on the Bears in Blayney.

The next to face the split will be Mudgee in round three, where the first grade Dragons travel to Orange to take on CYMS on the Saturday, while the other three grades will play against Cowra on Sunday.

During the opening round meeting between Macquarie Raiders and Orange CYMS, we posed the issue to fans around the ground to gauge their thoughts. Opinions were divided.

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CYMS Old Boy Chris O'Brien said splitting clubs up wasn't ideal, but was likely "the only option" officials had.

"They had to do something. It's probably all they could do, I don't know what the other option is," he added.

When asked whether sides who couldn't field a first grade side should be told to look elsewhere - such as the Woodbridge Cup - O'Brien noted he was against that idea.

"I remember quite a few years ago, CYMS didn't have a first grade team because they were struggling and they played reserve grade," he said.

"They'd help them build to get them back into first grade."

But remaining in ressies without a plan to return to first grade shouldn't be an option either.

"My way of thinking is if they can play reserve grade they should still look to build to come back into first grade as well," O'Brien said.

"I think there should be a time limit on it. You can't do it for ten years, that shouldn't be allowed."

Amy Cubby was at Wade Park on Sunday to watch her son play for Macquarie in the under 18s game.

She was "100 per cent" against a draw that split clubs up.

"I come from a rugby league family and I've watched rugby league my whole life and you don't come just to watch one team," the Wellington woman said.

"I could have jumped in the car and headed back home, but we sit around to wait for those other club games.

"Our boys in Dubbo, they all train together, they look after each other and then to come to a game and not get to watch each other, that's crazy."

Luckily for Raiders fans, they will not have to face the split round, with the club not scheduled to play against either Blayney or Cowra at all this regular season.

Ryan O'Connor was another parent cheering for the Raiders on Sunday.

While he understood the reasons behind the split draw, he said it was a "real shame" that it's had to come to this.

"If you want to go to the footy, you want to go for a day out and see four good games of footy. It's not ideal, but obviously you've got to do what you do to get the competition going," he said.

"The hardest thing is, you get a team like Cowra who don't field a first grade team, it's so hard to come back the next year after that."

He noted off-season changes which saw the reserve grade and league tag draws line up - for the most part - with firsts and under 18s was a positive step forward. Now, he just hopes that player numbers can improve across the board.

"Money talks as well and if that's what it's about, that's what happens unfortunately. You can't stop people playing footy where they want to play footy. You'd like to see a little bit more loyalty, but it doesn't really exist too much these days," he said.

"It's only going to get harder with the way things are. They're doing the best with what they've got."

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