Northland rugby league sets sights on entry to cup

It's hard not to see Northland's bid for Bartercard Cup entry as getting a bit behind the eight ball.
Even the spokesman for the Whangarei-based group responsible for making the local bid, Anthony Murray, admits as much.
"Unlike all of our competitors, who are already set up after playing in the competition this season, we're just getting started," he said.
But that's not deterring them from getting as much done as they can before the competition's committee sits down down to choose which of the bids gets to play in the 10-team competition next year.
"Our bid has been made but really it is a concept at the moment and can't go much further until we get the nod from the committee," Murray said.
The six-strong group of businessman has been sounding out sponsorship possibilities, aware that everything is theoretical at the moment, making it a tough sell.
Similarly coaches and players can't be approached until a firm future is known.
There are 14 applications for 10 spots, all except two from current Bartercard teams.
The new bids are from Northland and one from a new Canterbury team, that seems likely to disappear after talks between the current Canterbury franchise holder and the new bidder.
The Bartercard Cup comittee start vetting the applications next week and the next part of the process is to invite the applicants in to discuss them, Bartercard operations manager Kevin Bailey said.
The successful applicants will be announced in the days following the Bartercup final on Sunday September 19.
Reports in last week's newspapers that the Northland bid was likely to be ``rolled into'' the North Harbour bid _ or rejected in favour of a combined North Harbour bid _ were a misunderstanding Bailey said.
"I think that may have been a misprint.
"What it (the article) intended was that the two North Shore bids would be rolled into one," he said on Friday.
"The Northern application is a stand-alone and that's definitely how we're looking at it," he said.
The competition is going through major changes next year.
There were 12 teams this year but the NZRL has announced that only 10 teams will take part in 2006.
Instead of eight Auckland-based teams, it seems likely that there will only be five, leaving Northland in a good position to take advantage of the long-held NZRL position of taking the competition to the provinces.
"The main thing is financial viability and also proving that you'll be able to compete and where I stand at the moment Northland fill both those criteria," Bailey said.
Northland's large player base is an important factor in the bid's favour but Murray said in the first year the group expects to import over half of the squad.
That factor will influence the board's selection of a coach if the bid gets the go-ahead.
"The coach will probably be selected on what we can afford plus he'll have to be able to draw players to the area ..."
But to Murray and the rest of the group of bidders it's all really just academic - until they get the official stamp of approval.