Passion aplenty to go with Pride
Community carries side to its decade of success
PASSION, dedication and community spirit has catapulted the Northern Pride into becoming the most successful Intrust Super Cup in the past decade.
Players, administrators and supporters past and present will gather tonight to mark the highlights of an amazing 10year journey and few could have imagined what would unfold from that first meeting of Far North businesses in 2007.
But inaugural CEO Denis Keeffe said so thorough were the plans pitched to the Queensland Rugby League, it was going to work.
“We always had a mindset it was going to be successful,” he said. “It was opportune at the time. The National Youth Competition was coming in, the Cowboys’ Young Guns program was to be no more, so it was the right time and we wanted to offer a pathway for our players to the NRL.”
Passion for the concept grew among sponsors and players as they prepared to enter the great unknown and that attribute has been key to every on-field success.
Of course there were challenges, including the “debacle” of the first game against Mackay, which was delayed for two hours under the threat of a looming cyclone, but the effort made to engage the community meant that was only a blip on the radar.
For fellow club founder John O’Brien, the importance of the relationship between the Pride and community, particularly the CDRL clubs, was a lesson learnt from the fall of the Cairns Cyclones.
“We learnt some lessons from the Cyclones about 10 years before and one of the things we did that was completely different was we put a high accent on having the clubs’ support,” he said.
“As a result of that we really had blanket support throughout the league community.
“The attitude and the support was really positive from Day 1.
“The club did an enormous job in the early days in indigenous communities. I think that really built up a strong following in the Cape area.
“The other thing we did was put in the junior development program for under-17s and under-19s and I think that branding gave life to the club in the community.”
O’Brien often wonders what it would have been like had Adrian Lam taken his post as coach, but after he gained a gig with the Sydney Roosters, the Pride struck gold in snagging Andrew Dunemann.
He motivated the squad many regarded as no-hopers to get up at 5.30am, four days a week, for gym sessions, then return after a full day’s work for training.
Dunemann always believed the ultra-professional approach would pay dividends, but it wasn’t until the Pride smashed powerhouse Redcliffe Dolphins in Round 2 that the wider rugby league community realised they meant serious business.
“I always believed in it but I don’t think anyone else did until that win,” he said.
“I think the biggest thing out of that first season was 14 out of 17 players in local North Queensland competitions the year before, so it wasn’t like we bought players up from other Queensland Cup clubs.”
Inaugural football manager and Pride board member Rob White is reticent to single people out but said Keeffe, Dunemann and initial captain Chris Sheppard were the ones who set the standard for the club.
“It started with the training standard, the playing standard, the professional standard, the whole gamut,” he said. “That’s what is required to be successful in this competition. It’s a pretty tough competition.”
White said a ladder showing the Pride above all others in the past decade was perhaps the best reflection of sustained success of the club and certainly worth celebrating.
“I expected we’d be up there, but that’s a good statistic. It’s a good reflection of the 10 years,” he said.
Foundation player and current Pride player Joel Riethmuller said he could not have imagined the sustained “dominance” of the club.
“I suppose it was the unknown at the start,” he said.
Riethmuller urged today’s youthful side and the fans to keep the faith as more lofty heights were on the horizon.
“I think they’re doing a great job. You’ll see the dividend of that in the next two or three years,” he said.
“IT STARTED WITH THE TRAINING STANDARD, THE PLAYING STANDARD, THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARD, THE WHOLE GAMUT ROB WHITE, PRIDE BOARD MEMBER