The Maher Cup Book is available for purchase at Mahercup.com.au/store/ – for $63, which includes Australia Post delivery, or over the counter from the following outlets (prices will vary) :

Boorowa Arts & Crafts in the Old Court House
National Library of Australia Bookshop Canberra
Cootamundra Newspower [sold out]
Cowra Services Club
Frazer & Bradley Newsagency Grenfell
The Niagara Cafe at Gundagai
Harden-Murrumburrah Museum, Which Craft Cottage and Twin Town Times Office
Junee Newsagency
Temora Visitors Information Centre|
Tumut Newsagency
Museum of the Riverina 243 Baylis St Wagga
Bland District Historical Society’s Museum at Wyalong
The Hunting Ground, 100 Boorowa St., Young

You can also purchase online at Dansnrlcollectibles and Ebay

Reviews and comments:

Twin Town Times – It is simply, a masterpiece! … Neil has brought together over 875 pages of what is expertly and diligently researched material. The Maher Cup is a must for any lover of Rugby League in Country NSW and into the cities, with the city players often providing that extra spark or skill that would see one team triumph over another.

Peter McAlister – This publication is one that is a ‘must have’ for every rugby league enthusiast, collector, historian or just a footy bloke who likes to read about our great game.

Rod Brooke – Unbelievable book. A must to get for all … years and years of research by author Neil Pollock to bring all the stories of the Maher Cup to the people of country Rugby League.

Terry & Cathy Maloney – It is sooo much better than we expected especially due to the social side of life you injected into the different eras.

ABC Nightlife Geoff Armstrong
Below is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation on ABC Nightlife Thursday 28 December 2023 between presenter Rod Quinn and Geoff Armstrong who has been involved with the publication of more than 70 sports books. htps://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/2023—best-sports-books-the-year/103270808?
RQ: Let’s talk about some of the books that you think are worth reading if you’re a fan of this particular person, or a fan of the sport, or just you want to read an interesting story. Where would you like to begin?
GA: … It’s a book by a gentleman by the name of Neil Pollock. It’s been a labour of love of his to tell the story of the Maher Cup, the great rugby league competition from Southern NSW. And he has produced a quite magnificent history. It is quite superb. It is one of the greatest Australian sports books of all time.
RQ: That is a huge call.
GA: It is, but the amount of love and atention that he has brought to his subject – for those who may not know rugby league in NSW is divided into Groups … the Maher Cup is Group 9 …
RQ: Why has Neil Pollock decided to detail every game played in that competition?
GA: I think because he’s a rugby league lover. I think he would have grown up with the history. The stories get told from generation to generation. My favourite story: Nellie Melba turns up one day in Cootamundra and there’s no-one there to greet her, because Cootamundra is playing Temora that day in a Maher Cup game, and that’s where the whole town is … more than 3,000 people watching the football. It became almost a rite of passage for the youth of that time to be involved, either as fans or players if they were so lucky. And in those days, in the 20s and 30s especially, country football was very very strong, and all the towns there would pay good money to the best city footballers to come down and coach the team. Yes, it was not unusual in country rugby league, even into the 70s, for people who had played for Australia, still playing for Australia perhaps, to go and captain-coach a country team in one of these Groups and not play for the big money in Sydney, because they were getting good money in the country. There was more money in the bush. One of the characters was a fellow named Phil Regan. He played for Glebe in Sydney and coached one of the Maher Cup teams – and was just a great character. But the reason it’s such a great book Rod, and like all great sports books, is Neil Pollock the author loves his subject, and he’s a good enough author for that to shine through. And this is another thing about sports books – the great sports books are genuine labours of love …
RQ: For someone like Neil Pollock this is a book, unless you live in that area, you’re not going to find it in the shops.
GA: The way to get the book is through Neil’s web site – the Maher Cup web site. It’s a book that a mainstream publisher wouldn’t touch. I mean the production values on it are wonderful. It’s a beautiful book, but it is a book that the mainstream publishers, quite naturally wouldn’t be interested in. The bookshops wouldn’t want to touch it, because they would never have heard of the Maher Cup and there’s no sales rep who’s going to go out there and sell the Maher Cup – but it’s a book that should be recognised in awards, because it’s that good – but unfortunately the book award industry in Australia, it’s almost impossible for a sporting book to be recognised by the major book awards …
RQ: So that’s your best book of the year?
GA: That’s my best book of a few years actually.