Number 3 – Another successful year for The Townsville Brolgas
2019 saw another successful year for the Brolgas with the Teenage Boys and Girls along with our Senior Men’s & Womens teams, travelling across the state to take on the best in Queensland. All teams represented the Brolga crest with pride, playing some cracking country rugby. There were some players lucky enough to be selected from all Brolga teams to go onto higher representative honours (Stay Tuned).
Teenage Boys: This year’s Teenage Boys State Championships were held in Toowoomba, with the Brolgas sending an Under 12, 13, 14 & 16 side away. The Brolgas were in for a tough time, with miserable conditions not favouring the boys from the North – rain, fog, wind and more rain plagued Downlands College for the 3 days of competition. All teams represented the Brolga crest with pride, putting in 100% every time as they came up against some gigantic humans in trying conditions. All teams apart from the Under 12’s got the opportunity later in the year to re-ignite their rivalry with Cairns. The Junior Brolgas travelled to Cairns as a lead up to the Senior Brolgas, then doing the same at the Brolgas home day – before the Senior Men’s teams took on the Gold Coast.
Teenage Girls: The Teenage Girls for the second year travelled down to Bond University to take on some of the States most talented Teenage Girls on the Gold Coast in the Queensland 7’s State Championships. Unlike the boys, the girls were fortunate enough to have beautiful rugby conditions, with a lot of the girls getting their first taste for 7’s rugby. The girls competed extremely well, playing smart and expansive rugby with both the Under 15 and 17 sides getting a couple of wins each.
Womens: This year’s Stihl Shop Womens side started their campaign up in Cairns, and much like the Teenage Girls, they had a youthful side, with a handful of players playing their very first game for the blue and yellow hoops. Following their victory in Cairns, the team travelled to Brisbane to take part in a coaching seminar from some of Queensland’s best coaches. Following this seminar, those skills obtained were immediately put to the test in three games against Central Queensland and 2 South Queensland teams.
Under 19’s: The Conrad Gargett Under 19’s for 2019 participated in a different competition to recent years, with the Brolgas playing 4 games as a part of Tier 1 in the Queensland Country Championships. The 19’s kickstarted their campaign with a gritty win of FNQ Thunder in scorching Cairns weather. The team then travelled to Brisbane to take on the two premier under 19’s side in Darling Downs and Sunshine Coast in a double header, unfortunately they lost both encounters. Their final match resulted in a third loss against the Gold Coast in Townsville as a part of the Brolgas home day action.
Men’s: The Zambrero Senior Mens Brolgas participated in the same competition format as the 19’s and went in as favourites to clinch the Queensland Country Championships. In their first two games, the Brolgas were victorious, with strong wins over FNQ Thunder and Darling Downs. In their second encounter in Brisbane, the Brolgas narrowly went down to Sunshine Coast 14-12, before returning home in style to run away convincing winners against Gold Coast at Mike Carney Toyota Park.
