Cup's latest blow should signal the end of a competition which never found its feet

The premiers from the Peter McDonald Premiership, the Ron Massey Cup and the Newcastle and Illawarra competitions doing battle in order to be named the state's best club side.

There's a lot to like about it.

Now, just a few years down the track, it appears the competition is on life support.

ACM reported last week all clubs from the Newcastle competition - including two-time defending Presidents Cup champion Maitland - had voted against being part of it in 2024.

That came after a new Presidents Cup proposal was reportedly put forward and it involved just one match between the champions of the Ron Massey Cup and Newcastle competition doing battle.

If that was the case, it would mean the PMP champions and the Illawarra champions would be cut and that would be the latest blow for a competition that has never found its feet.

The scheduling has been a real issue, getting teams motivated has been an issue and getting clubs from larger regions to respect the PMP premiers has also been an issue.

The mighty Maitland Pickers had every right to be confident last year ahead of their scheduled semi-final meeting with Dubbo CYMS but coach Matt Lantry was quoted before that match talking about who his side would meet in the final.

Then, last week, while discussing the vote against the competition and problems with the cup Lantry had this to say.

"We raised the concern of the scheduling. Having experienced it the last two years, particularly the one in 2022 when we had to go to Parkes [for a semi] the week after winning the [Newcastle] comp," he said.

"It was awful. We trained maybe once. Lucky we played Forbes and not a real high-quality team, because we would have been running the risk of serious injury."

Yes, Maitland is a stronger team than Forbes was at the time and went on to win comfortably, but it's still not a great look for a competition NSWRL has pushed to have someone talking like that.

Last year's semi-final meeting between Maitland and CYMS never went ahead as the Fishies struggled to put together a team just one week after winning their own grand final.

That's a valid excuse. These players put everything into winning their local competition so they've got every right to celebrate, nurse injuries and spend time with their families and friends after that.

Setting a competition which, while prestigious, doesn't mean a huge amount to many in the game one or two weeks after local grand finals was never going to be a huge hit.

The decision from the Newcastle clubs could be the final nail in the competition's coffin and, maybe, that is for the best.

Aside from the Pickers, the competition struggled to gain support from clubs and no team was at its best when the matches arrived.

This year, those who represent their respective groups and the Western Rams could be playing some kind of footy from the middle of February through to the middle of September, should they make the PMP finals.

That's a long campaign before the Presidents Cup is tacked on at the end.

There's value in trying things and the chance to discover the best club side in the state is something which has merit.

But the Presidents Cup in its current form is not it. Rather than patch something together, calling it off for this year and investigating the merit of such a competition and speaking to stakeholders from all four competitions in regards to possible future editions of the cup would be the best plan long-term.

And, just to mention it again, let's hurry up and get the PMP draw for 2024 released while we're making progress.