Almanac Rugby League – The Year of The Seagulls

Queensland Cup Rugby League Grand Final 2011

Wynnum Manly Seagulls 16 d Tweed Heads Seagulls 10

by JJ Leahy

The Queensland Cup is one of two Rugby League competitions that sit at a level below the National Rugby League. The other is its New South Wales counterpart. It is contested by five clubs from  Brisbane and seven teams from regional areas.

The entry of the Brisbane Broncos into the then NSW Rugby League in the late ’80s followed by the the North Queensland Cowboys in the ’90s seriously damaged established League competitions. The once thriving Brisbane Rugby League saw the loss of commercial television coverage and the demise of three clubs with proud histories – Fortitude Valley ( the Diehards), Past Brothers (the Brethren), and Wests (the Panthers). North Queensland’s once famous and hotly contested inter-district Foley Shield fell away with many regions unable to field competitive sides.

The Queensland Cup was created in the mid-nineties to ensure a strong standard survived. It has been a reasonable success underpinned by a weekly Saturday afternoon coverage on a match each week by the good old ABC. Regional media organisations have also provided decent coverage. Channel Nine and News Limited, owner of the Brisbane Courier-Mail and a shareholder in the Brisbane Broncos, have not been as supportive despite brave efforts of a number of the Courier-Mail’s sports journalists.

NRL clubs the Broncos, Cowboys, Titans and Canberra Raiders have affiliations with some of the teams and use the Queensland Cup to give players on their roster who are not selected for the current week’s NRL team, the opportunity to play at a competitive level. The other players in the competition are the odd former NRL player still wanting to have a game, young players on their way to future NRL careers, and the majority who are semi-professional and have to get up on Monday morning and go to work.

We followed the enduring ritual of a Lang Park game ( no corporate ground names for this group of blokes) of meeting at the Caxton Hotel. The young Wynnum supporters were well ensconced and already raucous when we arrived before midday – Gormo, the old Brothers Prop, the old North Sydney Bear, the Cricketer, The Historian and Your Correspondent. Gormo is the sort of bloke who was born to wear an Akubra Hat. It sits on him as if it were a natural part of his anatomy, unlike Bob Katter’s Stetson style head covering which is more a global warming prevention device to reduce the venting of hot air. The Old Brothers Prop still laments the demise of his old club now fielding teams in the Second Division competition, but still found time for a quick flutter on some Victorian race meeting. The old North Sydney Bear has similar feelings about his club being shafted by the Sydney power brokers’ desire for a “National ” competition. The Cricketer was quite chirpy having got some quick runs to pull off an outright win the day before. He may be 61 years old but he still opens the batting in the the lower grades of the Queensland Cricket Association Sub Districts competition. The Historian was more subdued than normal as he soaked up the atmosphere of the pre-match crowd and listened intently to stories of players and games past. His passion for Rugby League is unbounded and he has written lovingly about ” the Greatest Game of All” as well as other topics.

The short walk to the ground was completed in time for kick-off. The Tweed Heads Seagulls were undefeated until the last round of fixtures. In the semi-final, they surprisingly lost to Wynnum who had only qualified in the last place for the finals series. The next week, they performed well and were favourites. Wynnum lost their first six matches of the season and were written off by many. However, they gradually improved as the season progressed.

Tweed started strongly with their powerful forward pack making ground with ease. An early try ensued. The Tweed captain, Brad Davis, was playing a dominant game with crisp passing and deep and accurate kicking. He opened up a gap with a dummy went through it untouched and sent his fullback on a long run to the line for a try under the posts. Someone remarked: “He is playing in a dinner suit”. It looked like Tweed were going to totally dominate Wynnum. The underdogs hung on and pulled off a try near half-time when the impressive young full-back, Jake Granville, showed great acceleration and awareness to follow up and a kick and score. The second half went back and forward. The defence of both teams was both tight and tough. Wynnum scored another try close to the posts off a kick that was allowed to bounce over the goal line. Tweed rallied and were held up over the line. Wynnum seemed the fitter and more determined and gradually played more of the game in their opponents half. A final try came off a line break followed by a quick play the ball and the fast and elusive centre Shea Moylan crossed out wide for the decisive try. Wynnum defended strongly until the final bell much to the delight of their supporters.

Wynnum Manly and Redcliffe both field sides in the Queensland Cup. They are bayside areas geographically separated from the sprawling surburbia of the city, and have retained a sense of local identity. It was a win that would have heartened the local community. Tweed Heads were traditionally a strong club in Northern Rivers Rugby League. The admission of a New South Wales based team to a Queensland competition was a wise decision that put aside the petty bickering that plagues many sporting organisations, and ,indeed, our current body politic. The fact that both teams were able to retain their historic “Seagulls” identity made this a worthy hard fought end to “The Year of The Seagulls”.