The famous NRL City v Country clash is coming to a sad end.

A historic rugby league tradition will be no more when the final NRL City v Country game will be played in Mudgee this Sunday. It will be a sad end for a game that has over a century of history.



Photo: Western Suburbs Rugby League Past Players Association

A Meaningful Clash

For many years, a solid performance in the NRL City v Country game would go a long way towards helping a player gain State of Origin selection.



Photo: Western Suburbs Rugby League Past Players Association

Sadly a great rugby league tradition is going to end in a farce.

“Sorry Not Available”

Selection dramas have overshadowed the lead-up to this weekend’s last ever City v Country clash. Embarrassingly on Monday morning, NSWRL was forced to send the following media release.

“Due to a large number of eligible players becoming unavailable for various reasons we are unable to name 17 players by the planned 9.30am announcement this morning.”

Wind back the clock and it was considered a great honour to wear a City or Country guernsey. These days they cannot fill a team less than a week out from the game. It’s a shambolic situation and one that perfectly represents the state the NRL has found itself in this season.

Torrid 2017 for the NRL

Instead of the focus being on the 2017 season and who’s going to win this year’s Premiership, all anybody seems to want to talk about is the future’s market. Instead of worrying about their current squads, fans are being distracted by talks of who will be in their side in 2018. All this and we are not even close to the halfway point of the season.

I feel for Wests Tigers fans who have had to watch their skipper sipping flat whites and agreeing to go and play for the enemy. When he really should be putting 100% into the black and gold. At the same time you’ve got blokes like Mitch Moses demanding they get released to other clubs when the season has barely started.

The final NRL City v Country game is another embarrassment for the league and shows just how much they are losing touch with their roots.

Canterbury, Canberra and North Queensland all made their players unavailable for Sunday’s game, fearing they could lose stars to injury. To be fair to the Bulldogs and the Cowboys, the NRL has scheduled them for a match on the following Friday night. Which gives players little time between matches. Matty Johns slammed the NRL for not doing enough to support the City v Country match.

“It’s the message of the NRL not doing anything to help this fixture. It’s the message it sends to grassroots rugby league in the bush,” Johns said.

“They always talk about the grassroots are so important, the country is so important.”

“Well I tell you what, they’ve done nothing to help you (country rugby league supporters) in this game. They’ve done absolutely zilch.”

I agree with Johns. That’s what makes this whole thing so sad, the slap in the face to rugby league’s heartland – regional New South Wales.

Rugby League’s Heartland

I was lucky enough to cover the local Group 21 rugby league in the Upper Hunter Valley several years ago.

This is an area that has produced some of the game’s greats. When you watch a match between Singleton and Muswellbrook, the competition and passion is fierce. It’s clear that the love for the game that country fans have is unquestionable. These Group 21 games stand out in my memory as some of the most exciting league matches I have watched.

NRL City v Country Demise a Disgrace

These are loyal, staunch league people. The City Country game used to give them the rare chance to see the NRL’s very best in action in their own backyard. Country rugby league has given and continues to give the NRL so much. It’s very disappointing that, by ending the NRL City v Country game, the league isn’t giving back.

by Michael T. Lynch – contributor