THE government has given its go-ahead but the Illawarra Rugby League still has some hurdles to clear to get on the park this season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It fits with the NSW Rugby League timetable pitched at a July 18 resumption for first grade premierships, allowing for a requisite lead-in time to prepare.
Defending premiers Collegians, Dapto and Berkeley have already withdrawn from any competition this year, with Wests, Thirroul, Helensburgh and Corrimal willing to field sides in what will be a fully amateur competition.
IDRL general manager Chris Bannerman said the board is of the view four teams is a viable minimum, with preliminary indications it will meet that standard in all grades.
"I think it was our view that four [clubs] was the minimum number to run any competition in these circumstances," Bannerman said.
"We're prepared to move forward with whatever number of teams, provided it's a minimum of four, in all our senior and junior competitions.
"Clubs have made decisions for various reasons and they should be applauded for making a decisions either way.
"We'll go back to everyone now following this announcement to determine where they sit before we redraft draws and move forward."
Should the Illawarra League get on the park it will be an outlier of sorts with other competitions around the state - including the Newcastle and Ron Massey competitions - dropping like flies.
"We've been confident we'd get something up and we've got minimum numbers across all our senior competitions," Bannerman said.
"It could've wavered a little bit. All we can do is go back to clubs and see where they're at. We don't expect everyone to be there, I think that's the reality.
"A lot of competitions that are considered at our parallel level haven't gone ahead so, if we get something off the ground we're a probably a step ahead.
"As diminished and watered down as it may appear to some, we may achieve something others couldn't so we'd have to consider that a positive."
The NSWRL had pencilled in July 18 as a possible return date for senior competitions to allow adequate preparation time.
Bannerman said the IDRL will work towards that date but will need to consult further with clubs and the governing body.
"I believe [July 18] is the intention of NSW Rugby League if everyone's comfortable with that," Bannerman said.
"There's no talk [yet] of relaxing restrictions on public gatherings and the limit of 10 people, which makes it hard to get a squad together to train properly.
"Three weeks preparation [from July1] to get ready for a hard contact sport, even if guys have been out there keeping fit, it's a little bit light on.
"We'll be seeking further clarification on that, which we're doing with NSW Rugby League at the moment, before we take it forward to our clubs.
"We want to be able to answer all their questions so we can move forward. We'll have those conversations with everyone and determine where the draw should start and finish."