By Tallon Smith – originally for the Yass Valley Times

A new rugby league club in the Monaro region town of Googong is firming to join the George Tooke Shield in 2025 in place of the departing Cootamundra Bulldogs.

According to sources with knowledge of the recent CRRL meeting, the Googong Goannas have been provisionally accepted into the competition next season, bucking the trend of clubs folding or leaving the competition such as Boomanulla, Gunning and Burrangong in recent seasons.

This isn’t the first time that an attempt has been made to form a rugby league club in Googong, with Goannas Vice President Tracey Morgan telling Battlers For Bush Footy her brother-in-law behind of a previous push which got as far as creating a name and logo before fizzling out.

“Jamie’s brother, Simon Morgan, tried to get this up and running in 2016 and had done a lot of the groundwork for it already,” Morgan said.

“It was pre-Covid and then Covid came around and some of the sponsorships fell through as around that time it was pretty scary for everyone.

“After that he just kind of left it as it had been a while, [and] he also played for Boomanulla and Queanbeyan Kangaroos.

“We are out in Googong and thought now is a good time to try and get it up and running again, not just for seniors (at first it will be seniors), but we are also really passionate about getting juniors up and running.”

With the club joining Bungendore in being based on the other side of Canberra to the competition’s three South West Slopes clubs in Binalong, Boorowa and Harden, the addition of the Goannas means another long road trip for those clubs once a year, and a long trip for the Goannas multiple times per season.

However Morgan said that it shouldn’t be an issue for those who love the game and want the George Tooke Shield to prosper.

“I think only time will tell, I guess that advantage will be that every second game will be a home game, which will be great, but I’m not too sure yet,” she said.

“I’ve been playing in the Katrina Fanning Shield for quite a few years now and before we had teams at every Canberra club we were travelling every second game to places like Harden, and I guess for us if you want to play rugby league and you love it that you just do that.”

Morgan said that the success of the local Australian rules team, the Googong Hogs, shows that there is definitely scope for a rugby league team in the town, with players who are already playing for other nearby clubs soon to be given the opportunity to represent their own.

“We have met with Josh who is the president at Googong Hogs, he is a big AFL boy and is really passionate about community sport and wanted to get that up and running, and had some great success and it is a good sign for us,” she said.

“Googong is only getting bigger and bigger at the moment and Canberra Rugby League is really supportive of it too as they see the potential in it.

“I think that it will be sustainable and I think it will be a mix as there are a lot of families in Googong that have come here for work from other towns and there is Defence as well.

“I think it will be a mixture of new players and I think there’s a few that have played First Grade or Reserve Grade in the Canberra Cup and they are just looking for something else now.”

As for whether the proposal has garnered much interest for next season, Morgan said that there has been a wave of support for the Goannas, with Googong being one of the fastest growing areas in the Canberra region.

“Just from reaching out to some of the local businesses and speaking with other families and posting on the Googong Facebook group, everyone is really excited because they have netball now, they have AFL and they love that it’s local and rugby league is the next thing,” she said.

“It’s a ten or fifteen minute drive into Queanbeyan from Googong, it’s not that far but it adds up when you are going every afternoon.”

“There is a lot of potential for juniors because our kids all play sport in town in Queanbeyan and in Canberra and we are driving in and out every day.

“It’s great for those young kids coming up like under 6s and under 7s so they can start here and grow here.”

The club’s entry will be formalised over the next few weeks, with confirmation expected upon the release of the competition’s 2025 draw.