The Australian Rugby Union has laid out a strategic plan to try and address the shortcomings in available talent and to try and tap new areas, including a long-overdue drive to try and improve the code's standing in state schools. Crushed by the Crusaders: A disappointed Brumbies team after their home loss. Statistics show it's the weakest Australian conference since 2011. Credit:Graham Tidy But Slack said there was no quick fix given the spread of talent across Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth, which has left fans and franchises short-changed when it comes to trying to match the best of the Southern Hemisphere. "I can't see an obvious answer. The expansion was, if not fool-hardy, then a bit impatient in spreading it so thin, so quickly. I remember at the start, it was in the days when [John] Eales and [Tim] Horan were going well, we thought we could stretch to another team. To then go to Perth and then Melbourne, suddenly we have five teams when really we've got two and a bit," Slack said. "You can understand why it was done. The broadcast stuff and the money ... they want to ensure they have enough product. And all the other sports are doing that, so they can't be seen to be sitting on their hands. But ultimately, to a degree, sitting on their hands might have been ultimately more beneficial.

"The Wallabies will always gather a bit of national attention. But I don't think in a million years that anyone in Adelaide or Perth, aside from that little clique in Perth and ditto in Melbourne, are going to care about provincial rugby. There is AFL there until the cows come home. I think it was an error and I don't think there is an obvious solution." The status of club rugby, particularly in Sydney, has been a topic of fierce debate within rugby circles, with Eastwood president Brett Papworth scathing of the ARU's lack of funding for what he believes should be the core of the game's development pathways. Slack, a stalwart at Brisbane club Souths, said he too believes the clubs should be a major focus but that horse has now bolted. "I think it [club rugby] considers itself very, very low in the rankings. In the ideal world, to me, the idea would be to crank that up again in the two main states. We're beyond that - it's not going to happen," Slack said. "I think some of the ARU people would privately accept an error has been made in expansion. But it was one they couldn't avoid to be seen to be modern and compete with AFL and NRL. That's the Australian sports landscape. That's just the truth, I think."