CENTRAL West Rugby Union's decision to lift the colts age group from under 18s to 19s for the upcoming 2024 season has opened the door for Bathurst Bulldogs to make their return to the competition.
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Bulldogs have confirmed that they will enter a side in this year's edition, spearheaded by the coaching trio of Shane Cantrill, Col Kemp and Michael Begley.
It marks the Bulldogs first appearance in the competition since 2019, where the team's bid for an unbeaten premiership season was thwarted at the last hurdle by Dubbo Kangaroos.
The presence of St Stanislaus' College in the city has always made school rugby the preferred option for year 12 students, but raising the move to under 19s allows graduating students a chance to take on players of their own age.
Just three teams - Dubbo Kangaroos, Forbes Platypi and Mudgee Wombats - took part in the 2023 colts competition.
Bathurst Bulldogs president Phil Newton and his committee were one of the leading voices behind a push to adjust the age group.
"We've been pushing for under 19s for quite some time. Kids are tending to go to school much later so we're not getting a hold of any Stannies boys until they've left school, and by that point they're in under 19s," he said.
"It's a push we've made over the last four years, ever since I've been president. There was a meeting in early December where it was clear that the majority of clubs wanted to move the competition to under 19s.
"It suits us down to the ground. At the moment we have probably 12-plus kids who have come out of Stannies and want to play for us.
"The great thing about colts is that is gives players an opportunity to play with their mates and in the process of doing that they're learning the club culture."
Newton is hopeful that the club's return to colts will act as a more natural stepping stone for some of the clubs most promising younger players.
"To come straight out of school and play grade is tough," he said.
"A lot of the time, especially if you're a smaller player, you're going to go straight into third grade, where you're going to be taking on a lot of ex-first grade players who know what they're doing, and facing some big men.
"That's daunting, and we've lost players because of it."
He believes in the years to come Bulldogs won't be short on numbers either.
"Over the last few years we've had a lot of kids who have left Stannies, like Tommy Felsch and Zac Taylor, who have decided to hang around in town and do a trade instead of going to uni. That's given us a few extra players," he said.
"Shane had a meeting on Monday night and said a couple of guys turned up from Lithgow who were keen to play.
"There's probably five to six players from last year who hung on the edges and only played a little bit who we're looking to get in contact with to see if they're keen for a full season.
"At this stage it's looking like we'll have somewhere in the late 20s, maybe even the 30s, in that age group."
