By Tallon Smith

A major shake-up is set to occur in the way rugby league is run in Central Queensland, with the top three Gladstone clubs moving to the Rockhampton competition for the 2024 season and beyond.

After a merged First Grade competition was last run in 2022, clubs have been pushing for a full four-grade merger, as Battlers For Bush Footy reported last November.

Gladstone A Grade stalwart and Tannum Sands clubman Axel Maeyke said that the merger would be good for the long-term health of the game in the region, with the Under 19s grade being the key.

“The best thing about it is in Rocky we’ve got Under 19s so the boys stay interested and they develop into good A-Graders,” he said.

“I think we’ve got the young fellas at all three clubs to do it, we’ve just got to keep them interested in rugby league and keep playing, keep Under 19s alive.

“I think we’ve got the players, when we play in the junior ranks Rocky’s not much better, it’s just that we haven’t had the development for the last five or six years, so if we keep this going for a while and those boys play A-Grade, we should be alright to keep the three sides and give them a bit of a shake in Rocky.”

Maeyke said one of the big challenges for the three Gladstone clubs making the move will be the standard of football, which is quite strong in the Rockhampton League.

“For the Gladstone sides going from a three team competition, the year before that when we went up to Rocky we struggled, so everyone knows what we need to expect from Gladstone [teams],” he said.

“We’ve got to bring up our level to match the Rocky boys, [who] get a lot more Capras filtering through their sides than we do.

“So we’ve just got to take better sides up there I suppose, get a bit more committed.”

As for the ambitions of his club in 2024, Maeyke is hoping for a strong performance across all three men’s grades and the women’s competition.

“Tannum is going for it this season, we’ll be playing finals football in at least two of the three grades,” he said.

“At least [in] 19s and A-Grade, and hopefully Reserve Grade.”

One byproduct of the merger is that the remaining Gladstone clubs, Wallabies and Calliope, will either have to join the Northern Districts competition or face winding up their senior sides.

A formal decision has yet to be announced, but it is widely expected that the clubs will play on in this competition.

The competition will feature nine teams, with Emu Park, Fitzroy-Gracemere, Gladstone Brothers, Gladstone Valleys, Norths Chargers, Rockhampton Brothers, Tannum Sands and Yeppoon contesting First Grade, joined by Bileola in Reserves.

Meanwhile, the two Gladstone clubs who didn’t join, Wallabies and Calliope, are expected to move to the Northern Districts competition, however Wallabies’ women’s side will compete in the Rockhampton competition.

Full 2024 Rockhampton District Draw

• Home team listed first

Round 1 (April 6)

Yeppoon v Valleys Gladstone

Rockhampton Brothers v Tannum Sands

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Emu Park

Gladstone Brothers v Norths

Round 2 (April 13)

Rockhampton Brothers v Valleys Gladstone

Norths v Yeppoon

Tannum Sands v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Gladstone Brothers v Emu Park

Round 3 (April 20)

Emu Park v Yeppoon

Rockhampton Brothers v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Norths v Tannum Sands

Valleys Gladstone v Gladstone Brothers 

Round 4 (April 27-28)

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Norths

Emu Park v Rockhampton Brothers

Tannum Sands v Valleys Gladstone

Gladstone Brothers v Yeppoon

General Bye May 4-5 – Labour Day Long Weekend

Round 5 (May 11)

Yeppoon v Tannum Sands

Norths v Rockhampton Brothers

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Gladstone Brothers

Valleys Gladstone v Emu Park

General Bye May 18-19 – NRL Magic Round

Round 6 (May 25)

Yeppoon v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Emu Park v Tannum Sands

Valleys Gladstone v Norths

Gladstone Brothers v Rockhampton Brothers

Round 7 (June 1)

Rockhampton Brothers v Yeppoon

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Valleys Gladstone

Norths v Emu Park

Tannum Sands v Gladstone Brothers

Round 8 (June 8-9)

Yeppoon v Emu Park

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Rockhampton Brothers

Tannum Sands v Norths

Gladstone Brothers v Valleys Gladstone

Round 9 (June 15)

Norths v Gladstone Brothers

Emu Park v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Tannum Sands v Rockhampton Brothers

Valleys Gladstone v Yeppoon

Round 10 (June 22-23)

Rockhampton Brothers v Norths

Emu Park v Valleys Gladstone

Gladstone Brothers v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Tannum Sands v Yeppoon

Round 11 (June 29)

Yeppoon v Norths

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Tannum Sands

Emu Park v Gladstone Brothers

Valleys Gladstone v Rockhampton Brothers

Round 12 (July 6)

Yeppoon v Gladstone Brothers 

Norths v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Rockhampton Brothers v Emu Park

Valleys Gladstone v Tannum Sands

General Bye July 13-14 – 47th Battalion Shield Representative Carnival

Round 13 (July 20)

Fitzroy-Gracemere v Yeppoon

Norths v Valleys Gladstone

Tannum Sands v Emu Park

Rockhampton Brothers v Gladstone Brothers

Round 14 (July 27-28)

Yeppoon v Rockhampton Brothers

Emu Park v Norths

Valleys Gladstone v Fitzroy-Gracemere

Gladstone Brothers v Tannum Sands

Finals 

Elimination Finals (4v5) – Sat August 3

Qualifying Finals (2v3) – Sun August 4

Minor Semi Final (Loser QF v Winner EF) – Sat August 10

Major Semi Final (1st v Qualifying Final winner) – Sun August 11

Preliminary Final (Loser Major SF v Winner Minor SF) – Sun August 18

Grand Final (Winner Major SF v Winner PF) – Sat August 24