League set to grow from grassroots

The Tasman Rugby League is well into phase one of re-establishing the sport in the region as part of its five-year strategic plan.

And that means reinventing the game at grassroots level, where the response, league officials say, has been encouraging.

It has been about six years since there was a meaningful senior competition in the Tasman region, but TRL secretary Paul Lafotanoa said they had already begun rebuilding from the ground up with the introduction of an eight-team primary schools competition – Mini-Mod Junior Football.

"We want to give kids and young guys the choice to play league," Lafotanoa said. "We want to provide that pathway for them."

The competition involves zoning clusters of schools. Each cluster will have four schools, with two clusters currently in operation – four schools from Nelson and four from Stoke and Tahuna.

Teams start the competition playing within their own cluster, vying for the cluster title. The title winners will then go on to play against other cluster title winners.

The next phase will be a new 10-week senior competition involving four teams from Tahuna, Stoke, Motueka and Blenheim, starting in late April.

Lafotanoa said four Warriors players, including captain and former Nelson College student Simon Mannering and Michael Luck, will visit Nelson from June 18 to 20 and attend a Carnival Day as part of the weekend's celebrations. A Nelson selection will also play a team from Auckland's Village Sports Academy.

Lafotanoa said he was also looking to introduce a three-match City v Country State of Origin-style series to be held after the local club competition.

Three sponsors are already on board to help run this year's programme, although he said the TRL was still looking for a major sponsor for next season when they hoped to launch a full senior competition involving up to "six or seven" teams.

- © Fairfax NZ News