Lithgow Shamrocks will take its bid to play rugby league in 2020 to the NSWRL and NRL, after being rejected to play in the upcoming Mid West Cup season by Group 10.
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Shamrocks were founded in 1966 and had won three Group 10 premierships in the 1980s, before disbanding in 2000 but reformed in late 2019.
A statement released on the Shamrocks' Facebook page said the club's rejection was based on three reasons: a lack of players in the Lithgow area, the lack of referees and the lack of ground availability.
Shamrocks addressed the three reasons in a five page document and assured the league that those issues would be sorted.
However, the statement informed Shamrocks supporters that the decision to reject the application stood.
"Shamrocks sent the attached letter to Group 10, clearly and concisely addressing each of these issues and therefore leaving no further concerns on the table that would deny Shamrocks entry," the statement said.
"Group 10 was asked to revisit its decision. This process took Group 10 almost two full months to deal with. We were informed that a meeting would take place this week to revisit the issue.
"However, yesterday (Tuesday, January 21), we were advised that the meeting had already taken place last week without our knowledge, and that the decision to reject our application stood."
The statement also detailed the process Shamrocks went through to address the three reasons of rejection.
"With regards to players, we gave an iron-clad guarantee that we would not poach any 2019-registered players from either Lithgow Workmen's Club or Lithgow Bears," the statement said.
"We also took the extraordinary step (with the encouragement of Group 10) of publicising our team list and making it directly accessible for viewing by all other teams.
"With regards to referees, the referees association confirmed to Shamrocks in writing that there was no difference between the admission of eight teams and nine teams."
In regards to a lack of ground availability, if Shamrocks are unable to play at Tony Luchetti Showground, the club has said it will play in Wallerawang.
Shamrocks stated the club's rejection is damaging the local game and that players will be lost to the sport of rugby league.
"The process is not over. We are liaising with the NRL and NSWRL regarding an appeal and will have further updates soon," it said.
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