Subbies have confirmed only 2 clubs will attempt 2 Grades this year - Convicts and Renegades.
There are now 13 clubs left for Divisions 5 & 6, and it looks like one of two options:
1) Big Division: 12-round comp playing each other once, then a split for finals = top 6, bottom 6, discard Team 13.
2) Small Division: North/South split, with 6 in one and 7 in the other. Play each other over 14 or 15 rounds and top 4 finals as usual.
Fuck.
So we have;
South
1 Dukes
2 Maccabi
3 Burraneer
4 Cronulla
5 Engadine
6 Convicts
North
7 Manly
8 Renegades
9 Raptors
10 Chatswood
11 Lane Cove
12 Wakehurst
13 Dee Why
Unknowns
14 Dundas?
15 Collaroy?
16 Menai?
17 Kings
Dundas have always had a numbers issue (who hasn't?) but they trialed in the pacific unity cup...so who knows.
Collaroy I heard was on struggle street numbers wise again (and again, who really isn't in this area of Subbies...)
Menai juniors won't hold up their seniors anymore so I've heard.
Kings should be able to move out of Halligans by now?
Sound about right?
Honestly though I wouldn't mind seeing a "graded" comp if one of those "unknown" teams came up with players.
G1; Cronulla, Burraneer, Manly, Engadine, Maccabi, Lane Cove, (no idea who to add as #7 but since the Raptors seem to be mainly ex-Emus, I'll pick them...)
G2; Dukes, Convicts, Renegades, Chatswood, Dee Why, Wakehurst, *insert Dundas/Collaroy/Menai/Kings/Mosman 6ths/Colleagues 6ths*
Seems a lot better balanced going graded. Even if Mosman or Colleagues decide to throw their 6ths (6 senior grades, imagine that...) into the mix for the season.
On that note, considering Div 1 teams (and everyone in general) seems to be struggling to fill out their 5ths, why not join that comp with Div 5/6? Might be worth exploring? Food for thought...