BAMAGA LOVES PRIDE
AT the far northern tip of Cape York and beyond, rugby league does not discriminate.
They may come from different islands and communities, but when there’s footy on, everyone is family.
Events like the one in Bamaga on Saturday, the third such visit from the Intrust Super Cup, bring people together.
It’s three hours before the kick-off in Bamaga and the crowd is already littered with families.
They’re not just spectators. At every announcement, “families” is the active word.
Many have taken up their makeshift shopfront hut, brought the barbecue and filled the air with some mouthwatering smells.
Most turn up early to watch uncles, fathers, brothers, cousins and sons in action in a curtain-raiser between the NPA Bulls and Thursday Island Stingers.
For the youngsters, the entire pathway to seniors and then to the Northern Pride, is laid out in front of them.
Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council Mayor Eddie Newman said a QRL match will give families hope their son or daughter can forge a career in rugby league.
“I’ve been asking for this for a while just to bring back ISC. This is where we live and we like to promote it and what better way than a game of rugby league,” he said.
“It’s a big social thing. If you want to meet family, go to watch a game of league and you’ll find somebody there.”
Northern Pride CEO Greg Dowling doesn’t need any more convincing to make it happen again.
“I always heard that the Pride is bigger than the Cowboys or the Broncos up here and you find that hard to believe. Now I’ve been up here, yes,” he said.
You might dismiss it as an outlandish statement, but to say Pride merchandise outnumbered Cowboys gear 20to-1 is an understatement. That was before they started selling it on game day.
“I was amazed. They’re just so friendly, they look out for you and I want to bring games back here and I’m glad the QRL are here, because the next meeting we have, I’m going to push for a permanent game here all the time,” Dowling said. “It has proved its worth to me.”
Former Cowboys player Matt Bowen said there was no doubt the kids would long remember the day big-time league visited Yusia Ginau Oval. Usually they have to make their own fun.
“They love their footy up here,” Bowen said.
“There’s so many kids here that want to be the next Johnathan Thurston or Sam Thaiday, so it’s about giving them the opportunity, and having this game here hopefully will give them that confidence and make them want to play for Pride or play for Cowboys, so it’s great.”
Mayor Newman even has a dream for a Cape York/Torres Strait team in the Intrust Super Cup one day in the distant future.
QRL board member Darryl Van De Velde, who was instrumental in Country Week getting off the ground, said the talent pool was certainly there.
Fostering it is another battle, especially when the concept of having sports trainers and paying insurance to play the game seems a bit foreign.
Van De Velde said it was “pretty special” to witness the community’s vigour for the game, justifying the investment in Country Week, which will total $1 million over the next three years.
“It’s the area (where) we need to grow the game, too, and give these kids a chance to understand there’s a pathway for them and that’s why we bring the teams up here,” he said.
“They don’t have to play State of Origin. They find their level, their opportunity where they want to go. At least they get the opportunity, that’s the most important thing.
“That’s what we’re trying to deliver here.”