On the back of the merger between Country Rugby League (CRL) and NSW Rugby League (NSWRL), regional clubs will receive immediate benefits before the 2020 season kicks off.
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Several changes to be implemented include insurance premiums being reduced for players and clubs and a recurring cash injection of $300,000 per year into bush football clubs after a redistribution of revenue from the logo licensing scheme.
Rules and procedures have been standardised across NSW. Matches played in the opening round of the Andrew Johns (under 16s) and Laurie Daley (under 18s) representative competitions were the first under this system.
All teams in regional NSW will also receive a free match ball from NSWRL while league tag sides will receive tags for free. This brings these clubs in line with their metropolitan Sydney counterparts.
"The decision by the NSWRL and the CRL to come together and work as a single entity has allowed us to deliver benefits across the state for both Sydney metropolitan and regional NSW clubs," NSWRL chief executive David Trodden said.
"These initiatives demonstrate how passionate the NSWRL is about rugby league across the entire state of NSW and I hope that all clubs and players reap the benefits from them.
"The insurance regime for regional players and clubs has been enhanced to bring it into line with metropolitan players and clubs. In some cases, this will see benefits under policies for regional players being doubled at the same time as costs being reduced.
"Revenue from the logo licensing scheme will no longer be centrally retained and will now be distributed back to the regional clubs which raise the revenue."
