Tallon Smith

After three seasons of inactivity, rugby league is set to spring back to life in Western Queensland after the return of the Western Rugby League was confirmed recently.

A push to re-establish the Thargomindah Bulls after 24 years in recess, followed by the return of the Cunnamulla Rams and Charleville Comets, who will field two sides, has led to a rugby league renaissance for the small towns of the vast Queensland outback.

Charleville Men’s coach Buddy Peacock said that the club’s return to the competition will mean a lot to the town and the broader region.

“It’s very exciting to have it back, obviously it’s been a few years that we haven’t had any footy, [it] gives everyone something to do again,” he said.

“Over the years it’s taken a while to get it back going again, so it’s great to have that opportunity.”

After the demise of the Western Rugby League competition during the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining clubs entered a combined side into the neighbouring Roma District Rugby League competition, travelling up to five hours to play games.

However, due to the strain of these long distances and some tough results, including a 78-0 loss to Roma Cities, the Ringers withdrew the following season, with the region having no rugby league side since.

Comets President and local referee Tyson Bailey said that having the competition back this season will mean that locals can play the game without having to travel hours to the Roma district, as well as having benefits for the community.

“I think for me, I’ve been here for two years now and coming from a referee background, it’s always driving to Roma for that footy comp, and it’s just too far to travel to play and to train,” he said.

“Having it back locally gives us that opportunity to have training here Tuesdays, Thursdays, build up that camaraderie and have a hit out on the weekend.

“It’s been good, it’s been two years coming, I’ve pushed pretty hard to get it up and running, so it’s good to have it back this year.”

Peacock said that the town has had other sports to partially fill the void while the rugby league club was in recess, but the excitement surrounding the return of the Comets showed how much the game was missed in town.

“We’re pretty lucky as a little town that we have netball in town, we have our touch, everyone gets together, but it has left a big gap, especially for our males who like playing rugby league,” he said. 

“A lot of us have driven down to play for Mitchell for a lot of years, with all the travel, we have to drive as far as Chinchilla.

“The last couple of training runs we’ve had over 20 blokes show up, so we haven’t seen those numbers for a long time and it shows how much people are excited and keen to get involved again with it all.”

As for whether there are plans to start a women’s competition, Bailey said that while it would be of interest to the clubs, numbers remain a roadblock at this stage.

“We’d love to have it, I think it would be awesome, but I just don’t think we have enough interest to form a women’s competition.”

Thargomindah rises from floodwaters to re-start footy club

The catalyst for the return of rugby league in the region was the re-formation of the Thargomindah Bulls in October after an astonishing 24 years in recess.

The small town in South Western Queensland is home to just 243 people, and last competed in the Western Rugby League competition just after the turn of the century.

In an interview with ABC Western Queensland late last year, club secretary Amity Warner said that it has been a major boost to the town to have the club back after devastating floods inundated the town last April.

“I think getting this team back up and running especially after the floods has given the town something to look forward to…and brought that community morale back up again,” she said.

With no competition to play in, the club set about extending invitations to their former rivals to return to the field with them, as player Dylan Andrews told the ABC at the time.

“We’ll go to Cunnamulla, Charleville, Quilpie if they can get a team, we’re going to try to get Augathella involved as well,” he said.

“Hopefully there’s more towns that want to get involved and see how good the comp is.”

Although a draw is yet to be finalised, the competition is set to run with cluster days, beginning in the coming weeks.

Rams’ return a huge boost for Cunnamulla

In announcing their return to the field, the Comets have joined in the movement started by the Thargomindah Bulls, who were the first club to re-form after a 24-year absence from competitive football.

Now, with the Comets and Bulls committed to the upcoming season, the Cunnamulla Rams are also working towards joining the competition this season.

Like the Comets, the Rams have not fielded a team since the 2021 season.

The club is hosting a registration day this Saturday, February 28 at John Kerr Park Oval, beginning at 10am.