Dubbo's mayor and the Group 11 president want the NRL to do more for regional matches

Walsh's views come after member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders revealed Apex Oval would not host an NRL fixture next year after doing so in 2021 and 2022.

Dubbo Regional Council reportedly had an opportunity to extend their deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs earlier this year but opted to wait, a move which saw the club choose not to return for next season.

Following the decision about Dubbo missing out on a match in 2023, Walsh admitted he could see the writing on the wall.

"It doesn't surprise me, council, I don't know whether they want it or not but people can't get enough of them," he said.

"I went to a meeting with the council, the mayor isn't a sporting person, he won't push it.

"It's disappointing by the NRL and that's the way they are working at the moment.

"I'm very concerned by the bullying tactics of the NRL."

A member of the NSWRL board, Walsh has long been an advocate for bush rugby league in and outside of Dubbo.

With NSWRL locked in a legal battle with the NRL over the removal of board members, Walsh believes should the governing body get its way, regional matches could become even more of a rarity.

"It's just concerning that if NSWRL doesn't win then I fear for bush football," he said.

"If they get their way I truly fear for grassroots rugby league because I don't think they recognise how many NRL players that they have playing in their competitions that come from the bush.

"It's worrying, when they took away the Country v City games it was the clubs who didn't want that.

"The players loved it, I managed the Country side for six years in a row.

"The players loved coming out to the bush, they'd do training sessions and school visits, for the kids that could actually see the NRL stars that are all lacking now."

Places like Bathurst and Mudgee will host games next year but Walsh believes the NRL could be doing more to support grassroots teams.

"They promised they were going to bring so many games to the bush," he said.

"Gosford isn't the bush, they keep taking them to places like Coffs Harbour.

"The clubs get no benefit moneywise up there unlike here where all the (Group 11) clubs get a bit of a lick of making some money out of it.

"It looks as though there won't be anything further west than Mudgee."

Without an NRL game in Dubbo, Walsh believes it will not only affect the residents in the Orana region but further west as well.

"That's alright for us, we are only an hour-and-a-half or two hours away from Mudgee," he said.

"But you take the likes of Bourke and Brewarrina to that who do come to Dubbo, it's another couple of hours for them to travel.

"Accommodation is a problem, it's sad that Souths have taken this stand."

Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson said the $67,000 loss council endured in 2022 was not the reason South Sydney won't return to town, giving a different reason instead.

"They said that they were very happy with the off-field results and the support DRC (Dubbo Regional Council)," he said.

"They were happy with how the Rabbitohs engaged in all sectors including schools and sporting groups, they were impressed with how the community engaged with them too.

"It was just from their perspective the football operations side made the call to not come back here.

"I'm not saying that is based on results."

Souths heavily lost both their games in Dubbo against Canberra and Penrith respectively, something which may have had an impact in the decision.

Now the Rabbitohs are gone, Dickerson said the council has been in contact with other clubs about coming to Dubbo in the future.

"We will keep talking to other clubs but next year is interesting because there are some grounds in Sydney which won't be available," he said.

"We've already approached the NRL and we did so many months ago about the World Cup coming.

"We told the NRL that we had a solution for them, and they have written back a polite response to say the potential is there but nothing is concrete.

"The biggest disappointment for me is that I'd like to see the NRL a bit more involved in the process.

"In my opinion and mine only, I don't think the best way to host an NRL match is to expect the council and ratepayers to fork out $350,000 and then go on to negotiate with individual clubs.

"Of course, the clubs then have some power and they don't do this now but they could play off different councils against each other to demand high prices."

Dubbo and the Western region as a whole have developed some great players over the years such as Andrew Ryan, David Peachey and more recent Matt Burton and Isaah Yeo.

It is Dubbo's talent for producing fine footballers which has Dickerson believing more could be done by the NRL.

"We now have a great nursery, we've got two players in the Australia team at the moment," he said.

"You'd think the NRL would be supportive of getting teams to come out to regional areas.

"They charge the clubs more because they have to bring the TV crews out, it actually costs the club more money to come out so they are penalised.

"In my opinion, I think it would be better if the NRL were more involved with bringing games out here, they say they want games out here but what do they do about it."

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