Rebuilding from within the priority for new Illawarra Rugby League boss

Pigram's now spent a week in the new role on secondment from the NSW Rugby League having initially been commissioned by the IDRL in September to conduct a review of all aspects of senior football in the Illawarra.

The process saw Pigram hold more than 30 meetings with clubs and other stakeholders and present a host of recommendations to the Steelers Club board. It included a stated goal of seeing the first grade competition expand to 10 teams in 2025.

It's an ambitious target given the competition dropped back to six teams in 2023 after foundation Illawarra club Helensburgh withdrew from the top grade, with Cronulla Caringbah following suit after just one season in Wollongong.

Avondale Wombats have given an in-principle commitment to join the top-grade competition in 2025 having broken away from the Illawarra Rugby Union to play in the Illawarra League first division (reserve grade) competition this year.

While the final report suggests teams from neighbouring Cronulla and Group Seven competitions could also make the leap to the Illawarra in future seasons, Pigram said the ideal scenario would be seeing traditional clubs like Helensburgh and Berkeley re-join the top-grade.

"To me that's the absolute priority," Pigram said.

"That would be the priority over looking externally to Cronulla, Group Seven or whatever it may be because they're the heart and soul of this region in terms of rugby league, and they've proven in the past that they can be at [that level].

"I met up with Helensburgh, so they were part of that [review] and were really excited to see what the future holds in that space. They're building towards that.

"It'll be my role to assist them in that process and to try and make sure that it isn't a short-term thing when they do want to come back in, or any club for that matter.

"We want to make sure that it's a long-term commitment to that top level competition, not short-term. It's about looking internally into how we can build the profile of those clubs and working with them on all those different fronts to get to that position where they can hopefully be long-term sustainable clubs at top-tier, and support lower tiers as well.

"We keep talking about just first grade, but that senior competition is from under 18s up. That under 18s is the utmost important to then have that flow-on effect for the Berkeley's and the Helensburgh's so that, in three years' time when a player is 21, they're playing first grade footy at their club."

While looking internally is the initial focus, Pigram said all options will be on the table in terms of expansion, saying the onus is on himself and the IDRL to incentivise a potential move for clubs from neighbouring regions.

"It's about building a competition which is appealing for other clubs to want to join it," Pigram said.

"If you're talking about the top tier competition by itself, if we can get that humming with the current teams and can make sure that those are set up right for the future, then it's more appealing for me or the league to go to neighboring districts and have that conversation, or even clubs within the second grade competition if they want to build up to it.

"The leg work to lead up to that is the most important, so that it's essentially a competition that those clubs want to join and they feel safe in doing it for a number of reasons. I think it's definitely achievable, but it's about getting the right things in place to get to that position."

It's a bold agenda for the former North Sydney Bears head of football and long-time NSWRL employee who was admittedly not overly familiar with the Illawarra competition when first approached to conduct the review.

While personally stepping into the head of football role was not one of the recommendations, it's something Pigram said he couldn't turn down.

"I built the relationships when I came down, had the review and started chatting to clubs," he said.

"When you start to do that, you start to feel investment in it as well. It was hard just to stop at the review.

"I'm a personality that likes to implement things as opposed to sitting back and letting someone else do it. When I did the review, I felt that investment in it, I felt like I started to build some of the relationships.

"I was asked to do it and the very next day I confirmed it, so it wasn't even 24 hours. The more I sat down and thought about it, the more excited I got because I'm so ready for a challenge and to get my teeth stuck into something different.

"The Steelers Club, to their credit, agreed to it. Sometimes New South Wales Rugby League can be seen as a threat to come down to a league like this, but they've very much come with open arms, which makes it more exciting for me because I'm wanted here as opposed to not."

Having a head of football in place is welcome news for clubs after multiple club reps expressed frustration at a lack of communication and transparency from both the Steelers and IDRL board through last season.

It saw a number threaten to withdraw from first grade altogether had they been forced to meet the administrative and resource standards of the NSWRL's 'Major Competitions'. Pigram said filling that communication gap will be a key part of his role.

"There was definitely confusion around responsibilities and who was responsible for what," Pigram said.

"It was not necessarily in a negative way, but just in a way where there was confusion. That leads to those transparency issues and communication issues. That identified the void that was there in this particular role and that formed part of the recommendation.

"The opportunity to come down here came from that. The review helped me to build that investment into it and then get my head around things. If a new administrator came down here, especially from New South Wales Rugby League, they wouldn't have that.

"The good part is that I am independent, I don't have any conflict of interest, I don't have a preconceived perception of anything. I'm just coming in with fresh eyes and a clean slate, so that to me is a really important part of this role as well."