mmg.com.au

Hanwood president Simon Quarisa has claimed comments made by Goulburn North East Football Association president Frank Trimboli were a contributing factor in his club’s decision to quit the Regional Premier League.

It is the third club to withdraw from the league after just one season, joining fellow Griffith-based clubs West Griffith and Yoogali Football Club.

Last week Trimboli told Griffith newspaper The Area News the league’s NSW clubs were ‘‘playing games’’ with league administrators and he would ‘‘not lose any sleep’’ if Hanwood withdrew.

Quarisa confirmed the players and the board had had enough.

“We couldn’t come to an agreement with the GNEFA board and then Frank gave us a good spray in the paper down here,” Quarisa said.

“After what had happened last year and what we were deciding this year then the thing that Frank said in the paper really just topped it off for us.”

According to Quarisa, the Hanwood committee was “pretty split” prior to the article and was willing to continue negotiations, but afterwards “didn’t even worry about wasting our time”.

Quarisa said the club maintained concerns about the way the competition was administered, based on the issues that plagued the league last year.

In recent months the GNEFA board has moved to address those concerns, with the introduction of an international player cap and a universal player registration deadline in the RPL Rules of Competition.

A standing committee has also been established to ensure each club is represented, which Quarisa described as a “nothing committee”.

‘‘The way we understood it from the meeting we went to, it was just a committee to raise sponsorship and awareness and promote the game,’’ he said.

“It didn’t have any influence, if one of the clubs did break a rule the committee couldn’t make a decision on the penalty or anything like that, it had to go back to GNEFA.

‘‘We tried really hard to work with (GNEFA) and the things that we asked were not favouring us ... it was to make it fair and even across the board.’’

Trimboli could not be contacted for comment yesterday, but earlier in the week told The News he had heard ‘‘nothing official’’ about Hanwood’s decision and that he was ‘‘not at all’’ bothered if Hanwood removed itself from the competition.

‘‘I know they are struggling to get a team together that’s all,’’ Trimboli said.

‘‘If they can’t compete it’s no good them being in the competition, we don’t want weak teams in the competition.’’

When asked if the competition could continue with seven teams and only one from north of the border, Trimboli’s response was ‘‘of course it can’’.

President of Yoogali Soccer Club, the sole remaining Griffith-based team in the competition, Paul Fisher, said his club remained ‘‘totally committed’’ to the competition.