The Canberra Raiders are hoping a push to revive rugby league in the bush will help pave the way for the club to build its new headquarters in Braddon.
The Raiders shifted their board meeting to Boorowa on Friday to help launch the Hilltops Council's sod turning of a new sports and function centre at the showground.
Raiders boss Don Furner has backed the NRL's bid to take games to country areas in the coming years to reconnect with smaller areas.
There is a proposal for the Country Rugby League to shift some of its resources to the Raiders' base at Bruce, which would involve the Green Machine building a state of the art home in Civic.
Raiders boss Don Furner was in Sydney this week and has been working with government officials in a bid to secure funding for a new high-performance base.
"My opinion is country rugby league should be in the country and they are with development officers who do a very good job," Furner said.
Ricky Stuart meeting with @M_McCormackMP and @YVC_Mayor meeting local businesses in Boorowa pic.twitter.com/oERohyPwmh??? Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) October 19, 2017
"But if they had an office out in the country it would be a good thing as well because country people want to see you out there. Maybe being in Sydney isn't the best place for that.
"It all comes down to funding, we're looking at what we can do and put in, and then what the NRL and the CRL could do at Bruce if that became available."
The Raiders will play against the St George-Illawarra Dragons in Mudgee next year and the club is keen to investigate moving a home game to Wagga in the coming years.
The clash against the Dragons in Mudgee is part of the NRL's plan to grow the game and give more people access to live rugby league.
The Raiders will play six of their 12 home games in afternoon timeslots next year, including just two night-time games in the capital in winter.
But they will begin their 2018 campaign with a trial match against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Sunshine Coast Stadium on February 17.
It aligns the Raiders with cross-town rivals the ACT Brumbies, who will play a Super Rugby trial match at the same venue just three days earlier.
The game will also be a chance for the Raiders to take on former assistant coach Dean Pay, who has joined the Bulldogs as their head coach.
