NSW coach Edie George hopes Sunday's Country-City clash in Queanbeyan will preface the formation of a wheelchair rugby league competition in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
George and the NSWWRL had hoped a four-team Canberra league would be formed in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans to start up an ACT competition.
A 2021 start date has now been penciled in after significant interest was shown at two come-and-try days earlier this year.
"With COVID, everything's been put on hold but we're hoping maybe the start of next year we'll have a full-blown Canberra competition," George said.
"We are hoping that by taking our Country-City game down there we can help promote the sport, and build up some interest for people to participate in.
"At our come-and-try events each time we had about 20 people participate. In some cases you can have six players per team and have one substitute to make the competition larger so we're hoping we can get at least four teams."
Wheelchair rugby league is a five-on-five sport played indoors, mimicking the rules of the able-bodied game as closely as possible.
MORE RUGBY LEAGUE
Tackles are made by removing tags attached to competitors' shoulders, and wheelchairs are specially built to handle the constant collisions which often leave athletes on the floor.
The football still needs to be grounded to score a try. If a competitor is physically unable to ground the football, they can touch it halfway down their wheel.
George will pick his NSW team from Sunday's Country-City contest. The match follows on from the conclusion of the NSWWRL season, at which the Canberra Raiders were premiers in the second-tier competition. Canberra beat Cronulla 38-28 in the Plate final last weekend.
"It's a high impact sport, people sometimes can get a bit intimidated by it," George said.
"The chairs are specially designed so people don't actually get hurt. Participants, if they see someone falling over they'll try their best to prevent them from falling really hard.
"It's just really exciting to be able to showcase our game down here in the Canberra region.
"Hopefully we can drum up some interest and increase participation down there. In my opinion when rugby league in Canberra is going good, rugby league in general is going good."
The match will be played at the Queanbeyan Indoor Sports Centre in front of a sold-out crowd.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
