The Glen Innes Magpies have withdrawn their reserve grade team for the remainder of the 2018 Group 19 season.
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The Magpies were hesitant to enter a side prior to the competition starting, with minimal player numbers at pre-season training.
The reserve grade outfit lost 74-6 to the Boomerangs in the opening round and chose to forfeit days before their round two scheduled clash with Narwan.
We just haven't got the numbers and they are just not turning up.
- Barry Grob
After a dismal turnout to training on Tuesday night, the club decided to pull the side for the remainder of the season.
“We just haven't got the numbers and they are just not turning up,” Magpies president Barry Grob said.
“I wanted to pull them last week and they said to go again.
“There was no one there [Tuesday] night.
“We only had 10 at our first home game and we had to use two A graders and a junior [under 18s player] to make it up to 13.”
Grob said it had cost the club financially to put forward a reserve grade team.
“They're just not interested, they don't care and they have cost us a lot of money to register a heap of them and they haven't bothered turning up,” he said.
“We just have to put a letter in to Country Rugby League, they will look at wiping the rego on some of those players.”
“It is $180 per player but for every $180 we save is more money in our pocket.
“We just have to put a letter into them and plead our case because it is just too much money getting wasted.”
In positive news for the club, the A grade team have signed up former Melbourne Storm under 20s player and three-time Group 19 premiership-winner Guy Mepham from Inverell.
The number nine was set to play his first game for the Magpies against Narwan on Sunday before the match was called off.
“He [Mepham] was keen to play too, pretty upset about not playing on the weekend,” A grade captain-coach Nick Say said earlier this week.
“He will be good for us.”
He will get his chance this Sunday when Glen Innes travel to Moree to take on the Boars who have posted two wins from their opening two matches against Tingha and the Boomerangs this season.
“It will be a good challenge. Everyone talks about them being one of the top teams so it is good to play them straight up early in the season and test where you are at anyway,” Say said.
“It is always a tough trip going there.”