History will be made in the four-nation Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) World Cup showcase event in the UK later this year as the sport finally gets the recognition it has been working towards.
England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand will field teams to play in the 21-31 October exhibition event to be held in Warrington to run alongside the World Cup matches for the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions.
Previously PDRL teams played at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games or other international friendlies and invitationals.
But this division of Rugby League is in the final stages of being a qualified part of the national and international calendars.
PDRL became affiliated with the NSWRL in 2017-18 and will receive NRL recognition by the end of 2022. At the World Cup the final checks and balances in governance and protocols will be signed off for all nations.
“This is a true Australian team from now on,” said NSW Physical Disability Rugby League Associaition (NSWPDRLA) director Paul Tubridy.
A 20-man team comprising 11 from NSW and nine from Queensland was named last weekend and will go into camp at Cabramatta Rugby League Club from 16 October before departing for Britain.
The coach is Brenden Pellegrino.
“The team has been announced now and we can’t wait to get over there and play,” Pellegrino said.
A fundraising night with NSWRL chief executive David Trodden as guest, along with NRL representative Maddy James, and Wests Tiger Football Manager Tim Sheens, sponsors and members, was held in the Cabramatta club this week.
“The competition for spots in the Australian squad has been hard-fought,” Tubridy said.
“For example, we have about 60 players in the Sydney competition and only chose 11.
“We’ve had to go through the pioneering stage in terms of getting both the administration side of things and the player competition running smoothly.
“Things have taken longer than we thought, but everybody has been very patient and now everyone is just really excited.”
There are six PDRL teams in Sydney – five connected to established NRL clubs - South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, Parramatta Eels, Sydney Roosters and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles – and one to a NSWRL club, Newtown Jets.
In Queensland the Gold Coast Titans runs a PDRL competition as part of its community programs.
There are 17-man squads in PDRL with 11 players taking the field for two 20-minute halves.
Due to the variance in functional ability of players, they are given a classification of A, B or C.
Players wear black shorts, meaning they can be tackled, or red shorts stipulating they must be touched to complete a ‘tackle’.
The field is a full 100 metres in length, but its width is 10 metres shorter than an NRL game.
PHYSICAL DISABILITY WORLD CUP SQUAD
Michael Baker (Titans, C)
Dean Clark (Titans, A)
Geoff Clarke (Rabbitohs, C)
Bryce Crane (Roosters, B)
Karel Dekker (Titans, B)
Rylan Gaudron (Rabbitohs, B)
Stephen Hendry (Titans, C)
Adam Hills (Rabbitohs, A)
Dylan Jobson (Titans, C)
Kyle Lloyd (Newtown Jets, C)
Rylee Lowe (Roosters, B)
Peter Mitchell (Rabbitohs, C)
Richard Muff (Titans, C)
Kane Ridgley (Titans, C)
Harry Rodgers (Titans, C)
Eddie Sharp (Newtown Jets, B)
Jonathan Smith (Rabbitohs, C)
Fady Taiba (Wests Tigers, A)
George Tonna (Rabbitohs, C)
Hudson Wicks (Titans, A)
Head Coach: Brendan Pellegrino
Assistant Coach: Craig Anderson
