A book written by Greg Riach takes readers on a journey through the history of football in the western and southern districts of NSW from 1920-1976, encompassing groups 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15.

Much of the content has been sourced from newspaper reports and photographs of players and teams throughout the decades and it is divided into three sections.

The first section consists of a summary of each decade and includes the great moments for teams and players. Records were made with some still remaining.

Great players and coaches emerged such as Ian Walsh, Bob Weir, John Hobby, Leo Nosworthy, Don Parish, Tony Paskins, Barry Beath, Norm Brown, Earl Harrison and Ken McMullen.

The second section highlights players who aspired to represent their region, Southern and Western being predominant with both producing a number of representative players. This book highlights the years and successes of the teams and players.

Southern and Western Division teams played England, New Zealand and French touring teams from the 1920s -1970s. Country trials were also held to select the country Firsts and Seconds teams to play their city rivals each year. Great players emerged from the country teams with some selected to play for Australia. Also included is the 1974 AMCO Cup.

The third section focusses in particular on the Maher Cup, which was initiated in the southern region and the Jack Hore Cup which was founded in the western region.

The Maher cup produced some of the greatest rugby league players including Eric Weissel and Jack Kingston who both went on to represent Australia. It covers the inaugural cup challenge (1920) to its final challenge (1971) and its retirement to Tumut.

The Jack Hore Memorial Gold Cup was instigated by the Canowindra townspeople after the sudden death of Jack Hore, an extremely talented sportsman who played cricket and football for Canowindra.

The first challenge match was in 1926 where Canowindra defeated Young. Rex Norman was captain coach for Canowindra in its earlier cup challenges. Included in the book are stories of the challenges and events through the years of its existence.

The Johnnie Walker and Clayton cups are also examined in the book. The Johnnie Walker Challenge Cup was initiated in 1922 at a meeting in Dubbo and came to rest in the 1980s while the Clayton cup is highlighted as.

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 16 November 2023.