It might seem hard to believe now, but it wasn't long ago that the Southern Highlands was the stronghold of Group 6 rugby league.
However, since the Mittagong Lions' last premiership in 1995, there has been a power-shift to the north, while the fortunes of the code in the immediate area have taken a tumble.
When Mittagong edged out Narellan 12-11 on grand final day nine years' ago, both Ian Handley and Dave Elliott played significant on-field roles.
Handley captained the side to victory, guiding home a handful of crucial kicks at goal, and Elliot's outstanding performance won him man-of-the-match honours.
Both former players admit they are concerned about the future of the code in the Highlands and believe some serious steps need to be taken to strengthen its position.
Elliott conceded all four local clubs had long and proud histories, but said people with the best interests of rugby league at heart had "to realise that times change."
In the wake of Mittagong's difficulties in first grade, the proposal for an amalgamated Highlands 'super' club is being revisited once again.
Group 6 secretary John Dayball is a long-time supporter of the idea, and Elliot is sure it would receive plenty of community backing.
"We've looked into combining clubs a few times in recent years and I think we need to consider it again," he said. "Things really aren't improving at the moment and everyone should try and do what's best for league."
This general malaise is centred predominantly on the game at a senior level, as the development of the local junior clubs remains relatively strong.
But Elliott fears this could change.
"Moss Vale and Mittagong juniors are doing well and Bowral and Robbo have a few teams up and running," he said. "Yet we could lose them because they mightn't want to hang around when they see their top senior team getting flogged.
"We need a strong first grade side to stop local kids crossing over to other codes."
Elliott's premiership team-mate Handley was involved in the short-lived combined rebel side, the Highlands Pioneers, in the late 1990s and claimed another such union could succeed if it obtained widespread support.
"The writing was on the wall a long time ago, even when the Lions' won in ‘95," he said. "The clubs just can't compete with the likes of Camden and Picton and so on anymore.
"If the Pioneers idea was supported from the start it might be really strong by now, but instead we're still having big problems," he said.
According to Handley, the parochialism of the existing Highlands clubs will only continue to damage rugby league.
"It's all good and well to have local rivalries, but if there's no teams, there'll be no rivalry," he said. "People need to get over the tunnel-vision and sit down together and work out what's best for the game."
Handley also called on Group 6 authorities re-examine the possibility of discarding the reserve grade competition and running a second division.
Email a friend