Town coach Doug Unuwai said he really liked the concept, but the Town versus Country fixture needed some revamping.
"With it being so close to the playoffs, [clubs] hold back their players," he said.
Unuwai said some players did not want to risk injury by playing in the Town and Country representative match, because the club finals were only a few weeks away.
Currently, players from the local club competition are picked to play for either the Town side (Rotorua area) or Country side (Tokoroa, Mangakino and Taupo area).
Unuwai said while the match was disappointing on Saturday, the representative fixture still had a lot to offer for the future.
"It's good to give new players and experienced players an opportunity to go for the representative sides."
He said if the rep fixture was moved back earlier in the season it would attract more of the top players from the Bay of Plenty.
"It will grow, we just have to pick the right days to have it."
Country co-coach Paniora Daniels agreed that moving the fixture to earlier in the season would help build the concept.
"It needs to be earlier in the season. We only have three rounds left [in the Bay of Plenty competition] then it is playoffs."
He said quality players who had niggling injuries, even if they were not too serious, had decided to give the match a miss on Saturday.
Daniels also noted that without proper selection processes, players did not know whether they should turn up or not.
"It's a good concept but we need a selection process, to select players from each club," he said.
"It is definitely a good concept but it just needs to be driven a bit better."
He said the oval at Tokoroa had the capability to host night games, with the new lights, so that could also be a goer for the future.
Bay of Plenty District Rugby League said they will be looking at ways to improve the fixture for next season.
Column about the Town versus Country concept on page 22.
