The bitter rivalry between South Sydney and the Roosters has reignited after the Rabbitohs have demanded the Tricolours get the boot from Matraville Sports High School.
Souths have written to the NSWRL to complain about the Toosters using the school as a training base for their junior rep sides.
The Bunnies are arguing that the Roosters, who have used the school for 15 years, are using their junior rep program as a way of poaching their best young talent.
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the Roosters have spent $200,000 in funding to improve the school’s sporting facilities and provide lighting at its sportsfields.
The NSWRL rules state “clubs are compelled to participate in matches and train for matches in the district or region in which the club is located and affiliated to.”
There has been debate between the two clubs for several decades over where the boundaries for each team’s junior area should be.
The Roosters’ junior base in Sydney’s east has shrunk dramatically while the Rabbitohs have one of the stronger nurseries in the NRL.
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said Souths Juniors’ mammoth investment in junior footy should be “recognised, rewarded and protected”.
“We have made our case to the NSWRL for the application of the Rule in this situation,” Solly told the SMH.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
“We think this is an important issue for all NRL clubs that have a strong relationship with their junior rugby league competitions and invest in pathways programs.”
Souths and the Roosters are also feuding over the Rabbitohs’ hopes of switching from Accor Stadium to Allianz Stadium with the Tricolours keen to ensure the Moore Park venue remains theirs even if the Bunnies can convince the NSW Government to break their lease at Homebush.
The Rabbitohs are battling to avoid the wooden spoon after a season of injuries while the Roosters are on the fringe of the top eight.
They meet in the final round of the regular season and Souths would like nothing more than avoiding the spoon while also ending the Roosters’ playoff hopes.
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/spCnAuj vs Roosters turf war flares up over disputed high school territory
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