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Rupert Guinness
June 5, 2009 - 12:42AM
THE gap in top-level competition after the scrapping of the Australian Rugby Championship is close to being filled by the club rugby finals, according to Eastwood coach, Brian Melrose.
Melrose was a big supporter of the ARC and coached of one of its teams - the Western Rams - but the former Waratahs backs coach believes that since the ARC's demise after just one season, in 2007, the Shute Shield has grown stronger, even though some struggling clubs like Penrith might not agree.
Either way, club rugby is no longer the third-tier competition. And that is thanks to the professionals having been made available to play for their clubs more often after the ARU's move to cut its Australia A program and encourage players to return to their clubs when they are not needed by their professional sides.
The Shute Shield talent pool has also been boosted with the Western Force and Brumbies players returning to their clubs of choice in Sydney.
Melrose believes last weekend's exciting 10th round was just a taste of what is to come in the semi-finals.
Asked if teams in the Shute Shield were of ARC standard - or approaching it - he said: "That's a really tough question. I'm a little biased because I was involved in it [the ARC], but it was magnificent football. Let's not get into the rights and wrongs of the concept, but I think when you watch the finals of the [club] competition this year it will be like the ARC with the added benefit of the tribalism of the clubs.
"So, in a lot of ways, you might then have a final series which will be magnificent because you'll have some real good squads, star factor on the field and the tribalism of the club teams and supporters."
Melrose's Eastwood team has reached the halfway mark of the competition in second place after their 27-17 win over Gordon at Chatswood Oval last Sunday.
The Woodies had two Wallabies - props Ben Alexander, who will play off the bench against the Barbarians tomorrow, and Matt Dunning, who is on the comeback from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in last year's fiery Barbarians game at Wembley.
The international domestic season and Tri Nations will mean the very best players miss club rugby but, because the ARU no longer has an Australia A program, there will still be up to 26 players who would have made up the Australia A squad remaining in the club ranks in Sydney and Brisbane.
This has also bolstered the ability of those clubs, with such players to develop their cohesion and combinations and eventually be stronger for it.
"Without the Australia A program, a lot of players that would have played in that program were pushed straight back to club rugby," Melrose said. "The Australia A program also often went for four to six weeks, so it could be quite a while before they came back."
Melrose believes the selections of several club teams this year has shown a marked change in depth. "Come finals, they will be very strong teams - probably as strong as, or stronger, than what has been in club rugby for years," he said.
? This weekend is a bye round in the Shute Shield for all clubs except Eastern Suburbs and Warringah whose first-grade sides will play tomorrow at Woollahra Oval.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/spor...0605-bxd2.html
Gee, big pat on the back for making the Shute Shield an "ARC standard" competition- by ripping the guts out of every other sub-Super 14 rugby program in the country!
Very true Swee!
Does this seem like a suspiciously timed article to anyone?
Wow, so to get something that is almost of ARC standard for three or four matches, all they had to do was cancel the Australia A program - that has to be the way forward then!
The day after JO'N mentions the possibility that they could refloat some type of third-tier comp?
No, that's very paranoid of you Beige![]()
How could something that is good for Sydney not be good for Australian Rugby?
And while we are sorting things out, the world is still flat, right?
Timbo
At one time in the not so distant past 85% of all professionals came from the Sydney Comp. It'd be willing to bet that the majority still do. So year until we once again have a national comp. the standard of the sydney comp will dictate the standard of all future standard of the up and coming players.
Working Class
I don't dispute your figures, or your optimism that the Sydney comp will be a strong breeding ground for Aussie rugby players....I think Timbo was suggesting that the plethora of policies specifically designed to keep it that way are anti-competitive and unreasonable.
(If I may be so bold as to presume Timbo?)
C'mon the![]()
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Presume away Gigs - I will only ever object if you get it totally wrong, as opposed to spot on. I think the cute phrase is Sydney-centric!
How about we set a national completion around the number of votes within the ARU?
NSW shall have 5 teams
Qld 3
WA 1
NT 1
SA 1
Vic 1
Tas 1
ACT 1
And if the province cant supply a team they have to give the vote to another.
Seriously, Australian Rugby doesnt get any Federal government support because our National body doesn't represent all states equally as required.
my beef is that there will be no televised coverage for rugby fans across australia.. if youre not in Sydney then you cant watch the game live or by any other means... thats a Travisty and the reason why i loved the ARC.. at least we got a couple of games shown every week!