Parkes rugby league identity Derek Hoe is the new president of Group 11 after the organisation held its annual general meeting at Dubbo.
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The resignation of Bob Walsh as secretary forced a re-shuffle of the committee, with former president Ross McDermott being elected into Walsh’s role unopposed and Hoe, who was in Queensland on family commitments, also elected without a ballot being required.
Nyngan’s Alistair Quarmby and Cobar’s John Claus were elected as vice-presidents while Narromine’s Tony Barlow will continue in his role as treasurer.
The five members of the executive will be joined by Mark Murphy and new Westside Rabbitohs president Col Fuller on the group’s management committee.
The judiciary panel remains the same as it was for the 2014 season while the selectors of the Group 11 senior squad will be McDermott, Hoe, Warren Wilson, Col Fuller and Mark ‘Bomber’ Forrester.
Such was the interest in the selection positions, eight people nominated for the five positions on the panel.
Hoe believes his charter in the job will be to continue the good work done by the previous committee.
He has been involved with rugby league, both on and off the field, for decades and said the opportunity to continue to put into the game was what inspired him to accept the nomination.
“I’ve got a lot out of rugby league and the game has opened a lot of doors for me, so I’m really keen to keep putting back in and trying to help Group 11 and football in the western region improve,” Hoe said.
“I’m a little bit nervous about it, it’s a big job, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and the good thing is I have good people around me to help me settle into the role.
“Even though Bob isn’t there any more in an official role he is one of the ‘godfathers’ of Group 11 and we’ll still be calling on all his knowledge and experience to help us with different things.”
One of the first items on his agenda will be to try and further negotiations with the Manly Sea Eagles with a view to playing a National Rugby League (NRL) match in Dubbo at some point in the future.
“That’s been a bit of a work in progress for a while but it’s stalled a bit,” Hoe said.
“Our negotiations with Manly have gone to a certain point but stopped. Hopefully if it’s not them it will be another club and we’ve been in contact with a couple, we’ll just have to see what comes of it.”
Meanwhile, with his Group 11 commitments out of the way Walsh is hopeful of being elected as a vice chair of Country Rugby League (CRL).
Walsh is one of four nominees for the two positions, which will be voted on when the AGM of the CRL is held on November 28 at the Holiday Inn at Potts Point.
“I’d like to stay involved in rugby league and even though I’m not officially involved with Group 11 now I’ve told Ross (McDermott) that if he needs my help I’m only a phone call away,” Walsh said.
