Orange Barbarians president Paul Rudd was upfront in his response to Group 10 Rugby League’s decision to suspend the New Era Cup for a week, following a couple of recent incidents involving fighting and lack of crowd control.
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It’s not a decision he agrees with.
One of those incidents involved his club, the Barbarians’ top grade clash with Kandos was called off early last weekend after a fight broke out and following the two players involved being sent off, it spilled over onto the sidelines.
The other incidents involved referee abuse in Villages United’s clash with CSU Bathurst last weekend, and another crowd control issue after the students’ league tag fixture with Portland several weeks ago.
He admitted the incident involving his side was far from acceptable, however considering it was Barbarians’ first indiscretion he labelled the decision to cancel the entire round “heavy-handed”.
“I agree we can’t that kind of ill-discipline, or referee abuse in the other case. In our case last weekend it was a regrettable set of circumstances, we get along well with the Kandos guys it just boiled over,” Rudd said, adding that he hadn’t expected his club to escape sanction following Wednesday night’s meeting with Group 10 officials.
“But I think it’s a very severe reaction. I’m a firm believer in taking each case on its merits and I don’t think it’s fair to throw a blanket over the entire competition and cancel an entire round, men’s and league tag.
“I really feel for the clubs that weren’t involved and the ones that were going to be hosting this weekend, they’ll take a big hit financially.
“These games are big things for the smaller towns and it’s taking away the sport and social side of things for those clubs and towns.
“There has been similar instances of this type of thing in the New Era Cup and in Group 10 competitions, but the entire competition has never been punished.
“There’s a precedent there and I don’t think they’ve followed it.”
Rudd pointed to Wallerawang’s suspension and then expulsion in 2014 – which he presided over as the New Era Cup president of the time – along with the well-publicised incident between Orange Hawks and Orange CYMS in 2011, which led to the former club’s expulsion for the remainder of the Group 10 season in all divisions.
He also referred to the 2015 Group 10 premier league grand final between CYMS and Lithgow Workies, when six players were sent off for their part in a brawl in the final seconds of the game.
“Wallerawang were given two warnings and players were suspended, before the club was suspended for two weeks,” Rudd said, the Warriors were then punted after re-offending late in the season.
“In the case of Hawks and CYMS, Hawks were removed from the competition and individual players were suspended. In [the 2015 grand final, the jewel in Group 10’s crown, there was a brawl.
“The individuals involved were punished, not the entire competition.
“It’s our first indiscretion [since entering the competition] and, to me, it’s a classic case of the board not valuing the New Era Cup and everyone involved in it.
“I respect the board and what they do, I sat on those boards, but I think maybe they’re a little bit out of touch. They’ve been there for a long time.
“Maybe it’s time for the New Era Cup to take Woodbridge Cup’s lead, and break away.”
But Rudd said he and his club have accepted the decision and will “move forward”.
“We’re more concerned with growing our club and helping our members enjoy rugby league and the social side of the sport,” he said.
“It is what it is and we’ll just have to stay disciplined when we host Lithgow. Our captain-coach Ben Gosper is very much focused on the sport and always has been. There are plenty of other sports you can play if you want to fight.
“The guys and girls will focus on that Lithgow game now, with a big win the men can still move up to fourth place.
“That would be very important for us, because it would mean we’d host the first final.”
Barbarians host Lithgow Bears at Wade Park when the competition resumes.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
