FEATURE: BEAR TOWN
The Burleigh Bears’ journey to the top hasn’t been without trials and tribulations. Many credit mateship and community spirit for their success
Bear hugs all around as Burleigh Bears prove the power of passion
IF you saw the Burleigh Bears play last weekend, you could be forgiven for thinking they’re all tough, brutal men.
But dig a little deeper into the rugby league club’s history and you’ll find they were once known as the Koala Bears.
Over the years, the football club has clawed its way up the ladder to become one of Australia’s most successful.
Yet some say it’s their friendly, cuddly side that led them to the big stage this year.
After 12 years of hard work, the Burleigh Bears last weekend won their first Queensland Cup since 2004 after beating Redcliffe 26-16.
They will take on NSW Intrust Super Premiership winners, the Illawarra Cutters, this weekend on NRL grand final day for the State Championship.
Many players have credited mateship and community spirit for their success but it’s a value the club has had for many years.
Burleigh Bears chairman Laurie Oar has been part of the action for nearly four decades and still remembers when they built their first clubhouse at Miami’s Pizzey Park in the 1990s.
“We had nothing at first,” the 58year-old said.
“It took years to get enough money to build something.”
When they eventually raised enough funds, the club put their bold plans into bricks although some sceptics doubted they would be successful.
Mr Oar said they proved the knockers wrong and built their own “Taj Mahal”.
“We were doing everything on the cheap because we didn’t have enough money,” he said.
“I remember one night, we were working with the car lights on and State of Origin playing loud on the radio.
“It was a great reflection of the community building a dream.”
The club was originally founded by Bob Singh in 1934 with Rudd Park as its home ground.
After a nine-year cessation, it was reformed with Currumbin in 1959.
Finally in 1971, the club relocated to Pizzey Park which is still its current home.
Today, it counts more than 25,000 members, including 45 junior teams and six senior teams.
The club’s chief executive officer of five years, Damian Driscoll said its success “didn’t happen overnight”.
He explained the team was reshuffled last year to make room for new players and the decision had paid off.
“We want people that are good role models for the rest of the players in the club,” Mr Driscoll said. “We do a lot of research. “It’s probably no different to someone getting employed for work.
“We want to make sure they’re a good character and they have strong training ethics so they train hard and cause no trouble.”
Mr Driscoll credited coach Jimmy Lenihan for this year’s cup win and he’s not the first one to do so.
In the early 2000s, the club went through a golden phase and won the Queensland Cup in 2004.
Scott Clark was the chief executive officer at the time and also said coach Rick Stone played a big part, as well as good players and a nice atmosphere.
“We had a really good environment in those days,” he said.
“We had a strong coach, Rick Stone and he created an environment for the boys to want to play footy.
“We tried to create a nice atmosphere, making sure the players were looked after but also that their partners and kids felt part of the club.”
Mr Stone was the club’s legendary coach who led the team to victory in 2004 but he later admitted it was a tough competition to win.
“What people have got to realise is that QCup is a hard competition to win,” he said.
“Particularly (against) some of the big Brisbane clubs, Wynnum, Redcliffe and Easts.
“To be competitive in that competition takes a lot of money and resources ... so it’s a tough game.”
Although it’s a hard competition, the Burleigh Bears have proven they have what it takes.
Several players have ended up at the Gold Coast Titans and some of this year’s players will feed into other NRL clubs after the season.
But it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows for the Burleigh Bears.
Earlier this week, the team’s cocaptain Jamie Dowling was ordered to do 200 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine by a Southport Magistrates Court judge for supplying cocaine.
Last year, ex-Bears junior Hayden Butler’s suicide rocked the rugby league community.
Despite some setbacks, the love of the sport has kept Burleigh Bears members coming back to play and support their favourite team.
In 1989 the late Campbell Duncan, a descendant of the early pioneers of Burleigh, eloquently explained what he loved about local rugby.
“A day of great amusement was the first rugby league match at Burleigh,” Mr Duncan said.
“The goalposts were tea-tree poles set on the southern end of the edge of the swamp.
“The contest was a for a 10 gallon keg of beer which was rolled down from The Bluff Hotel and set up on the sideline. “The losing team was to pay for it.” Wearing flannel shirts, long trousers tucked into their socks and sandshoes, the men lined up to play one of Burleigh’s first rugby games.
“It could have been the beer that affected their sense of direction, some of them, when they got the ball ran for the nearest line whether it was the opposition’s, their own or even the sideline,” Mr Duncan said.
The club now donates thousands of dollars to other sporting codes and community groups each year.
But the Koala Bears was never going to stick. At the time, it was because of the number of koalas which crossed the Gold Coast Highway at Tallebudgera but it never stuck because it was considered “a bit soft”.
However, anyone who pays attention will notice a framed jacket with a koala logo from 1975 hanging in the club’s foyer. It reminds everyone that through kindness and passion, anything is possible.
WE WANT PEOPLE THAT ARE GOOD ROLE MODELS FOR THE REST OF THE PLAYERS IN THE CLUB