Just one game in the 2016 NRL season will be played in a regional NSW centre, with Penrith Panthers taking their clash against Canberra Raiders to Bathurst in round nine as part of a longstanding deal agreed last year.

Instead, games have been scheduled for Perth, Darwin, Cairns and some regional New Zealand centres.

Wagga mayor Rod Kendall said he was disappointed the city had missed out after the success of the City-Country clash hosted at Equex in May.

More than 9000 people packed into Equex in May for the City-Country representative fixture, confirming Wagga’s huge appetite for top-class rugby league.

“The really disappointing thing is it’s not even indicating there’s going to be a dedicated number of games that go to large regional centres, except for one game (in Bathurst) that’s got a pre-existing agreement in place,” he said.

“The disappointing thing is it’s not just Wagga that won’t be getting one of these games.”

However, Cr Kendall has vowed not to give up on trying to bring a regular season NRL game to the city in future years.

He said council had been engaged in “very good discussions” with recently departed NRL chief executive David Smith, though talks had gone quiet following his exit.

“It just seems to have come to a grinding halt since David (Smith) decided to move on,” Cr Kendall said.

The snub has also disappointed Wagga-born Bulldogs and Panthers legend Chris Mortimer, who is also determined to keep fighting to secure a game.

Mr Mortimer said the NRL needed to show a commitment to regional areas.

“Surely they understand the need to nurture the country areas, where so many great footballers have come from,” he said.

“If they want to keep pulling kids from the country, they’ve got to put something back into the country.”