Why a Group 10 second division is nothing more than a pipe dream

It's also why the idea of a Group 10 second division - essentially a Mid-West Cup revival - appeals to so many.

But is it actually a worthwhile idea to pursue?

Captain-coach for the 2023 Mid-West Community Cup champions, Ryan Evans, has plenty of experience in the defunct competition and also plenty of fond memories.

"Mid-West was a great competition and had a different feel (to Group 10)," he said.

"You finish the game and you go back to the other team's pub and it was more relaxed. Group 10 you finish the game and go home."

Evans was part of the title-winning Blackheath Blackcats which took out the grand final over Kandos in a nail-biting 34-28 affair at the end of October.

It was also the first time Blackheath fielded any side in any competition since 2018.

"The community absolutely loved it and there was a lot of support thrown behind us," he said.

While the club was able to gather up enough players for the four-week competition, Evans didn't think that interest could translate over into a full time league, such as the Mid-West Cup.

"It would be nice to get back to a proper comp, but I don't think there's enough players around the Blackheath area to warrant a team for a full season. It would be hard to push the numbers," he said.

"A lot of the guys were a fair bit older so the four week comp was ideal for them. They would love to see a team, but they wouldn't be able to commit to a full season."

The absolute minimum number of sides needed for a Group 10 second division competition would be six.

But realistically if you wanted it to survive and to avoid another scenario like the one where Mid-West merged with Woodbridge Cup, you would need at least eight.

Coming out of the Group 10 AGM, there was a thought that Orange United, CSU and Oberon would be open to a Woodbridge departure should a second division comp get the green light.

Woodbridge president Andrew Pull later said all three former Mid-West sides had reiterated their commitment to the competition.

The 2023 Mungoes president and first grade captain, Ray Sargent, also shut down those rumours.

"I got a text from Pully with a screenshot from the article asking if we were still keen or not," he said.

"I was a bit thrown out by it because we didn't attend the AGM.

"In no way does this reflect the club's opinion, but in my opinion Woodbridge is where we want to stay. Going to a second tier would be a backwards step to be completely frank."

Sargent reiterated that although the club would need to sit down and discuss their options, he believed Woodbridge was the place to be.

The only reason the second division concept was brought up in the first place was because both the Blayney Bears and Cowra Magpies confirmed they would be unable to field first grade sides for the 2024 Peter McDonald Premiership.

With a Group 10 second division seemingly off the cards before any real discussion got going, it appears the Magpies and Bears will almost certainly end up in the Woodbridge Cup.

Sargent said adding the two clubs would be "unreal".

"Those top few teams in Woodbridge can not only compete with the second tier, but genuinely with the Peter McDonald," he added.

"I know we're only going into our third year in the competition, but what we've seen is there's some quality footballers and it needs to be recognised a bit more."

The idea of bringing back the Mid-West Cup, or any type of competition to ensure clubs continue to exist and thrive is of course a worthwhile venture.

But in this particular instance where Woodbridge is thriving and problems keep arising with the PMP, our energy shouldn't be focused so much on where clubs play, but instead about figuring out a way to help clubs like Blackheath return to the fold in a more permanent way.

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