THE three remaining Lower North Coast Rugby Union clubs hope to have some idea of where they'll be playing this year following a meeting of the Mid North Coast Zone on Wednesday.
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Manning Ratz, Wallamba Bulls and Forster Tuncurry Dolphins are currently in limbo following the collapse of the LNC premiership. Five men's teams and three women's sides contested the competition last year.
However, Wauchope and Old Bar won't be fielding men's teams this year, making the LNC competition untenable. Old Bar was an early powerhouse in the Lower North Coast, however, the club has been in the doldrums since making the grand final in 2012. Another LNC club, Gloucester, didn't play in the competition last year.
The Lower North Coast competition was formed in 2008 in a bid to cut down the travel that had blighted the previous Mid North Coast competition that involved clubs from Forster-Tuncurry to Coffs Harbour. Grafton has since joined the Mid North Coast Zone.
Manning Ratz president Steve Rees previously conceded that the LNC clubs would struggle to be competitive in the Mid North Coast first grade while all three clubs are concerned at the prospect of excess travel.
The Ratz won the Lower North Coast premiership for the first time in 2020 and were minor premiers last season. Manning and Forster Tuncurry were to play the grand final on Saturday, August 21, however, the season was eventually abandoned when the State went into lockdown.
