Toowoomba Junior Rugby League History 1970 – 2017

In 1968, an application was made to the Toowoomba Rugby League for permission to organise the foundation of a Junior Rugby League. This request was very strongly opposed by the Secondary and Primary School leagues, and the application was rejected; however, with the backing of the Chronicle and DDQ Channel 10/4, an unofficial League called the Darling Downs Junior Rugby League was formed, and the various leagues played for the Channel 10 Cup. Two teams under 10’s and 11’s, sponsored by Channel 10 toured New Zealand that year, with boys from Stanthorpe, Warwick, Daly and the Toowoomba area taking part.

Bob Mahoney, wrote an article in the Downs Star, stating that it would be a shame if the expertise obtained should be allowed to lapse so once again I gathered around me League supporters, like Gary Czislowski, Pat Herbert, Bernice Herbert, my wife Clare, Ruth Kimmins, Nev Gaffney, Merv May, Dick Pascoe, Trevor Lavelle and Newtown, Pittsworth and Oakey clubs, and I went to the TRL Annual Meeting of 1969, and only on the casting vote of the then President, the late Reg Riorden did the Junior League come to existence. The first formal Annual Meeting of the Junior League took place in November in the auditorium of DQ, and the Leagues teams were Newtown, Pittsworth, Oakey, Souths, Cecil Plains, Millmerran, All Whites were hesitant, Tony Edge told me the feeling in the club was that “the Junior League would not get off the ground,” so I suggested they advertise a muster for the grades Under 10, 12 and 14. They did, and they got 109 boys there for the only three grades field that year.

Valleys played it cautiously and only came into the competition in the second round.

The first fixtures commenced in March 1970 and with a bit of luck, League officials could referee a game; keep time for another match, and help in the soft-drink canteen. Amongst our first club delegates was the present Queensland Agent-General in London, our ex-Federal MLA, Tom McVeigh.

As the years passed, the QRL requested to get the DDJRL to change to the TJRL in line with their streamlined policy.

Today the TJRL has eight clubs; Pittsworth, Oakey, Souths, Brothers, Valleys, Gatton, Dalby and Highfields with the highest numbers of registrations ever.

The clubs Wests, Newtown, Millmerran, Clifton and Cecil Plains are no longer in the TJRL, but while in the competition they were great competitors, with great players and officials.

Our Leagues first full internationals were Mark Murry from Millmerran and Pittsworth Juniors, Dan Stains from Valleys and All Whites, and Tim Horan (Wallaby) from All Whites Juniors. The first schoolboy internationals were Brod Guymer (Valleys) and Scot Czislowski (Newtown). There have been many since and there will be much more in the future.

The League at one stage had its own radio show on 4AK run by Darcy O’Reilly and its weekend magazine called the Junior Rugby League News run by Jim Sweeney, and one of its schoolboy photographers, later becoming a newspaper photographer with the Chronicle, the Courier Mail, and is now with the Australian Newspaper in Sydney, Patrick Hamilton.

Longest-serving Chairman of the League, Kev Hamilton was at the helm for 14 years and ill health brought his involvement from foundation to an end.

The Junior Rugby League is in the capable hands, in this our 47^th year, with Chairman Dan Aldons, Vicki Thompson (Secretary), Belinda Fowler (Treasurer), Wyatt Cook-Revell (Publicity Officer) and Games Committee Members, Troy Huggins (Chair), Bradley Steer (Country Representative) and Mark Pomfrett (City Representative). The controlling board members being the Presidents from each Club in the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League.

Credit is given to Mr Kev Hamilton (dec’d), Founder of the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League, for this recount of history, as published in the Junior Rugby League News in 1995.