The Ngawha Saints may have been locked out of the Whangarei and Districts Rugby League this year after delegates voted against a proposal to re-admit the team to the competition.
Club delegates didn't take to the proposal made by a representative of the prison's administration, which would have seen the prison
team pull out of the competition after completing the preliminary rounds.
The decision not to take part in the playoffs last season drew widespread condemnation from administrators and players and was the biggest sticking point to the team taking part again, president Sonny Hohepa said.
"The clubs have rejected the Ngawha Saints proposal, it seems they will forgive but they won't forget," Hohepa said.
The Ngawha Saints surprised many by qualifying as the top team in the competition last year for the playoffs. But then in a surprise move, spurred by increased media attention and security concerns, the prison's management decided to default its first playoff game in the competition against eventual champions Takahiwai Warriors - a move that isolated their supporters on the board.
Takahiwai never supported their inclusion in the competition and defaulted both their preliminary round games at the prison in protest.
Hohepa said the Ngawha officials would be invited back for the next delegates' meeting at the beginning of April and invited to discuss the decision "but, at the end of the day, it's still the clubs' say".
"The clubs say the games [against the prison] will be worth nothing and will just risk injury for their players and they don't see it as an advantage."
Jack Bush, the new Ngawha Saints team manager this year, said he would be at the next delegates meeting and would re-submit their proposal to join the league.
"Don't count us out yet, we haven't and we're hoping that the clubs will change their mind yet.
"There's nothing we can really change in terms of what we've submitted but I'll be going back down to the next meeting anyway to see if they will reconsider the original decision."
Bush said he plans to let the players know about the board's decision this weekend.
"They'll be disappointed, we've been training since the beginning of January and this competition has given them something to look forward to and been motivation for them to stay out of trouble," he said.
