Club Spotlight: Return of Quirindi

Tallon Smith

Country rugby league’s rebound in 2025 has spread to the Liverpool Plains with the Quirindi Grasshoppers set to return to the Group 21 competition after eight years in recess.

The Grasshoppers, who spent time both in that competition and the Group 4 Second Division prior to their hiatus, will rejoin the group via its reserve grade competition, joining Merriwa and Murrurundi as reserves-only clubs.

Quirindi Grasshoppers Committee Member Jordan Allen told Battlers For Bush Footy that the club’s miraculous return came about after he raised the idea to a few keen fellow locals.

“First of all it’s bloody awesome to see the Grasshoppers back playing footy just in general, but it started with a vision to be honest [from] myself,” he said.

“I thought to myself, I’ve got two kids now, and growing up watching my dad play for the Grasshoppers, I remember going over to the field in Quirindi and watching him run around. 

“Back then it was in Group 4, but we decided we were going to go into 21 this time. 

“But it really just started with that and I just sort of thought, you know what, let’s give it a crack, the worst I can get told is no.

“That’s kind of where we started and here we are.”

Winners of Group 21 First Grade premierships in 1929, 1977-78 and 1980-81 and a lone Group 4 title in 1947, the town sits right on the border of the Hunter Valley and North West competitions, and has spent time in both over its history.

With two options of where to play, Allen said that there were discussions about joining Group 4 but ultimately the club chose Group 21 due to its acceptance of reserves-only clubs and pathways to Newcastle.

“With Group 21 and Group 4 both being open to us coming back into the competitions, I just thought Group 21 is probably the best opportunity not only for us older guys and a few younger fellas coming through but also for the juniors when we finally get them back up and running to establish a bit more of a sort of pathway down to the big smoke,” he said.

“Back when I was 16, I played a little bit of football in Group 21 and then ended up down in Newcastle myself.

“One of the biggest things for us [was] wanting to go into reserve grade. 

“Obviously being out for the last decade now, coming back into the competition, any competition would have been hard.

“To be able to come back in with the reserve grade competition is just a no-brainer for us anyway.”

With rugby league players having had to travel to play for other clubs for the best part of a decade, Allen said there has been a real buzz around Quirindi, as locals look to return and represent their home town again.

“It’s currently the talk of the town and we haven’t even been able to step foot on a field yet,” he said.

“So I believe with the footy coming back into Quirindi, like I said, it’s an opportunity for the young fellas to really explore their football careers if that’s where they wanna go, and the town obviously has been screaming out for football ever since they left. 

“Some [have gone] to Werris Creek, a lot of them go to Werris Creek, and a lot of them go to Murrurundi. 

“I believe there are maybe even a couple of young blokes that have since got into the seniors that are playing down in Scone or somewhere down there, but like I said around this sort of area there [wasn’t] really anywhere for anyone in Quirindi who really wants to represent Quirindi to play football, so we just thought let’s give it a go.”

The Grasshoppers are the second team to announce plans to return to Group 21 in 2025, after local rivals Murrurundi Mavericks announced they would re-join the competition back in November.

Both teams will compete in the Reserve Grade competition and also field a women’s team.

Aside from growing its membership from seven to nine clubs, the group is also working on expanding its female game, with the women’s tackle competition set to run for longer and feature more sides than last season.

Group 21 ran a post-season ladies tackle competition in 2024, which featured five sides, including Murrurundi, and was won by Merriwa 14-8 over Muswellbrook.