Key officials from the City and Country Origin sides have called on the National Rugby League and clubs "to begin supporting the annual contest or remove it from the calendar," according to Read & McDonald of THE AUSTRALIAN. Amid a "slew of withdrawals from both teams," most from City, New South Wales Rugby League CEO Dave Trodden said that the clubs were "treating the game like a bye weekend and questioned whether it had a future in the current climate." Trodden said, "It can't keep going on the basis that the fixture remains in the schedule but the clubs are not supportive of it. The clubs treat it like it is a week off for them. ... If that's going to be the future of the game, then the game doesn't really have a future." Trodden’s view "was mirrored" by Country Rugby League CEO Terry Quinn, who described the number of absentees as an "absolute disgrace" and called on the NRL to begin sanctioning clubs for pulling players out. Quinn: "Given the fact the game is on the calendar, it should be supported by everyone. It is ridiculous" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/3).
