'Woodbridge is the best fit for us': Tigers throw support behind competition

The 2023 Woodbridge Cup semi-finalists have started to put together the pieces for next year's title bid at their recent AGM, and part of the agenda was reaffirming the club's dedication towards they've called home for the past two seasons.

Talks of a possible Group 10 second division being created had been floating around this season.

Returning Tigers club secretary Neil O'Grady said the idea of joining such a competition wasn't even considered for a moment by his club.

"We had a meeting this year where that idea was put forward and we said that in the current climate Woodbridge is a really great fit for us and we're very happy with it," he said.

"Woodbridge is already a really strong comp and I don't think there's too much difference between the Canowindras and Manildras of the region, and even Condobolin and Trundle who are strong on their day.

"Tigers have decided that Woodbridge is the best fit for us. We would not even entertain the idea of a second division Group 10 comp.

"We understand that there's the tyranny of distance for us but Andrew Pull and his committee are aware of that and they do try to accommodate where possible."

Woodbridge Cup recently welcomed the Blayney Bears and Cowra Magpies into the competition for 2024.

Just like the Tigers (who initially joined the New Era Cup), Blayney and Cowra opted to take the step back to the second-tier competition after struggling to remain competitive at the top level of Group 10 football.

O'Grady said the Tigers welcome the challenge of taking on the two new arrivals to the competition but expects plenty of other great sides to be fighting it out next season.

"We think there's going to be a lot of strong teams," he said.

"Our biggest concern as a club is for the general health of rugby league in the bush. If these moves help Blayney, Cowra and Oberon stay healthy then that can only be a good thing.

"We look at the bigger picture. We invite strong competition. We'd love to win the comp, no doubt about it, but we'd much prefer to see the comp be healthy first."

Oberon had taken the step back from Group 10 with the hopes of one day possibly making a return to the top.

However, with the creation of the Peter McDonald Premiership - combining Group 10 and 11's top tiers - that's now not feasible for the club.

"We were bitterly disappointed that we couldn't compete with other Group 10 clubs. We were raided year in and year out," O'Grady said.

"Every year we'd be left looking for new players because our population wasn't big enough to support a purely local side at that level. We can do that in Woodbridge though.

"If we stepped up to Group 10 we'd have to be active in the market, and to do that these days you'd need a reasonable financial warchest to do it."

The Tigers successfully held their AGM last Thursday, after their first attempt at holding the meeting didn't attract enough interest.

O'Grady was returned for another year as secretary, Ian Christie-Johnson retained his role of president while Oberon councillor Helen Hayden stepped up to take on vice-president duties.

The return of Shannon Foley to the club committee was also welcome news to O'Grady.

"She was one of the most valuable club members we had, and she has the makings of a future club president, in my opinion," he said.

"Jade Taggart was going to step down as registrar and have a year off but she said she'll do it again. She's such a great resource for the club.

"Spiro Kavalieros, our juniors president, also has a seat on the committee. That gives us a good bridge between our juniors and seniors."

O'Grady said it was very disappointing to see the first attempt at holding an AGM fall by the wayside, especially after a season where the club had reached the grand final.

He said generating a strong committee isn't something that the Tigers alone have been struggling to do in recent times.

"It's something that can't be sugar-coated. All clubs are struggling," he said.

"There's something in people's psyche that goes 'Someone will do it' and that can sometimes lead to a club falling away. We've seen that happen to the likes of Kandos. It's very hard to regenerate a club further down the track.

"It's not a popular thing to say but sometimes people don't want to hear things that they have to hear. And while the NRL might be thriving bush footy isn't."

The big question now for the Tigers is who takes the coaching reins for the new year.

"We think the player ranks will be taken care of and now it's just on to the coach. We can confirm that [incumbent coach] Abel [Lefaoseu] has approached the club," O'Grady said.

"We'll be putting out an open call for applications for the men's first grade side and for league tag."