Swords merger fails to excite

After the final round of the inaugural New Zealand Rugby League National Competition the Northern Advocate asked several rugby league identities whether they thought the Northern Swords should join up with North Harbour to make the team more competitive in next year's contest. All three agreed it would be best for the province to remain separate.
Northern Swords Premiers coach Revell Neal said he thought the zones should be kept how they are now. "However, Auckland could be split up again so it has three teams coming out of the province [including Auckland Premiers and Counties Manukau who are already in the competition] as their district comes right across Auckland - and particularly out West and South Auckland are so strong.
"Northland could become competitive in the next few years with the proper structures in place," he said.
Northern Zone general manager Rob Wakelin said joining up with North Harbour would only be a quick fix to the problem but it would open up a whole lot of other issues.
"Geography is already a problem without going down to North Harbour. The opportunities for Northland players to be in the representative side would be limited if we were to join up with North Harbour," Wakelin said.
Benson Selwyn, who coached the Kaikohe Lions, to win the 2010 Whangarei City and Districts Competition premiership, said he believed Northland already had enough talent to hold its own in future National Competitions.
"The way it is structured needs to be improved. The Northern Zone Board needs to select the coaches and the team about two to three months prior to the National Competition."