Bathurst Regional Council broke new ground in 2014 when it signed a five-year deal with Penrith Panthers to play NRL matches at Carrington Park.

The deal was not without risk for Bathurst – ratepayers now pay up to $300,000 a year for the right to host each match - but the benefits, in terms of promotion of the city and tourism dollars, have been substantial.

Panthers have obviously seen benefits as well, this year extending the deal for another 10 years until 2028.

Now, several other regional centres are following Bathurst’s lead.

Last week it was announced that the St George Illawarra Dragons had come to terms with Mid Western Regional Council to play for games in Mudgee over the next two years.

At the same time, the NRL proudly posted that next year’s draw would also feature matches played in Tamworth, Gosford, Gladstone, Toowoomba and Cairns.

It’s not going too far to suggest none of this would have happened without Bathurst taking the lead.

For years country rugby league fans had been crying out to have top-line matches played outside of the major cities before Bathurst and Penrith penned their first deal.

They showed it could be done, and the response from country league fans showed it was worthwhile, and it is no surprise now to see more teams and more towns getting on board.

That’s not to say Bathurst’s deal with the Panthers could not be better, though.

As rugby league fans wait for the release of next year’s NRL draw, due this, council is also left waiting to see which team the city will be hosting in 2018 and when we will be hosting them.

Ideally, ratepayers would expect more input from council than that.

For the price we are paying it should not be unreasonable to have some say in who Penrith’s opponent should be for the Bathurst match and at what time of year they should play here.

Naturally, gate receipts at Carrington will vary widely depending on the quality of Penrith’s opposition and anyone who has ever visited Bathurst would know that a late evening match in the depths of winter is not an attractive proposition for fans.

A partnership should allow input from both parties.