For the second time in three seasons Group Nine is faced with having one less club in the competition however not all believe it is a step in the wrong direction.
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After sitting out the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns, Cootamundra have applied to take part in the George Tooke Shield next year.
It comes as Tumbarumba went into recess for the 2018 before joining, and winning, the Murray Cup last year.
Greater Western and Greater Southern Zone Manager David Skinner is just pleased to be able to give clubs an outlet to continue rugby league.
"We get swamped with negativities about it but they are playing football," Skinner said.
"They are just in a different competition.
"It is a whole different ball game and they are just sizing to where the demographic fits.
"If you consider Cootamundra is a town that historically had three abattoirs and a huge railway network and that doesn't exist to the same extent now.
"They don't have the same employment and they are a demographic that doesn't have as young of a population as they used to have so now they have moved into a competition that suits their size and profile a bit better at the moment."
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Group 10 and 11 have unveiled plans to combine their competitions next season however Skinner, who now oversees a much larger part of NSW, doesn't believe the same appetite for change currently exists between Group Nine and 20.
Especially with the significant distances between existing cubs.
"That was tabled to all the Group 20 clubs only a few weeks ago and the general consensus for boundary changes is the distance is just too great," Skinner said.
"If you look for Hay to play Cootamundra it is about 3 hours 40 in travel one way and when you start to compare clubs of similar size, like Hay and Cootamundra are at the moment, you would have ended up with ridiculous travel distances at times.
"The current model for Cootamundra to cross boundaries is Harden is 30 minutes away, Binalong is 40 minutes away, Boorowa is about 40 minutes away, Young, where the Burrangong Bears play out of, is about 40 minutes away and Grenfell is a touch more away.
"If we were looking at boundaries there would be a lot of similarly sized clubs in near proximity and that is maybe how changes will occur."
Cootamundra have also adopted a new business plan in an attempt to grow in an endeavour to return.
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