I've had many ideas on a similar concept to this. Due to the GPS competition's long history, I don't think that it should be altered drastically or altered at all for that matter. However, what if there was a combined competition before the GPS comp starts or after it finishes, where all of the independent schools were categorised into divisions based on how strong their 1st XV is, I think that it could open doors to more selection opportunities for representative teams and be a clear mechanism to determine the strongest 1st XV in NSW. For example, in the top division, you'd have schools like Joeys, Knox, Waverly, Scots, Barker, etc.. (all of the strongest rugby schools), then in the second division you'd have teams like St Aloysius, Trinity, Cranbrook, Oakhill, St Augustine's (most likely none of the main 6 GPS rugby schools) and many others, then in the third division you'd have schools like Kinross, Sydney Boys High, Grammar, St Stanislaus, TAS, St Pius, all the way to the weakest rugby schools.
If this combined comp would occur after the main season, depending on how each team performs in their respective comps, that could determine which division they're categorised into, or, if it would be before the main season simply base it off on how the team performed the year prior in their main competition (although you'd have to consider the changing talent each year within teams).
This would involve the GPS, CAS, ISA and CCC. I reckon this could be done similar to how the English Premier League and Football system operates with how the bottom teams get relegated and the top teams in the lower divisions get promoted. This could then determine the best school in NSW each year, which they could go on to play the best team in Queensland, in which a trophy and annual fixture could be created.
Let me know your thoughts.
The Maulester
