Southern Inland are looking to introduce a hybrid women's competition in 2024. Clubs were asked for their feedback on expanding the current 10s competition to 15s. However concerns around player numbers will see the competition take a step towards the traditional format of the game by playing 12-a-side. While it will give more players a bigger opportunity to play, the change will see some unique rules come into play. Southern Inland rugby manager Jack Heffernan is looking to work with the response from the clubs. "The discussion was around expanding it but there were some concerns from jumping from 10s to 15s, obviously a 50 per cent jump," Heffernan said. "We will work with the clubs on the best way to approach that with the possibility of something like 12-a-side but obviously that's not a defined variation so we would have to come up with our own rule variations and work with the relevant people to make sure we get that right." It was one of the main talking points from the annual general meeting earlier this month. There was one change to the board from senior vice-president Bart Challacombe starting down. Mark Macarthur has stepped into the role with Adrian Quilty joining the board. Southern Inland are also waiting for a better understanding of how many teams clubs will have before formulating the draw. There could be up to nine first grade teams with Leeton and Deniliquin both considering entering first and second grade men's sides. Heffernan expects an early to mid April start with the season to be finished before September. "We're just waiting to figure out how long the season is before trying to find the middle ground," he said.
