Murri Carnival a winner

Tony Currie

A young rugby league team from Townsville has been crowned under-15s champions at the inaugural Queensland Murri Carnival on the Gold Coast.

The Townsville District Walkabouts staged a 44-24 victory over FNQ Dodgers in the division’s final, showing off their talent before some of rugby league’s heavyweights.

The carnival was held at Firth Park, Mudgeeraba, on 22-25 September. More than 50 teams competed across three divisions – open men, women’s and under-15s.

However, organiser Tony Currie said the carnival was all about showcasing the younger players. “(We) reduced the men’s teams due to the outstanding response for the under-15s,” he said.

“The carnival (was) predominantly there for the kids to display their skills. (We) increased the under-15s from 16 teams to 22, which allowed us to get another 150 kids into the system.”

The under-15s players were also vying for spots in the 2012 under-16s Queensland Murri team, endorsed by the Queensland Rugby League.

In other finals results, Highlanders 16 defeated Brisbane Blacks 4 in the women’s division, while the open men’s division was won by Southern Dingoes 44-24 over Purga Wagtails.

The open men’s teams competed for the Lionel Morgan Cup, named after the legendary Australian representative winger of the 1960s.

The carnival featured some of the nation’s best rugby league talent. The winning Southern Dingoes, for instance, included NRL player and Wests Tigers halfback Robert Lui while its grandfinal opponents boasted dual international Andrew Walker and Penrith’s Yileen Gordon.

The Queensland Murri Carnival was the brainchild of Currie, himself a former rugby league international. He wanted to create a Queensland version of the well-established NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout. Currie was amazed by the response.

Less than six weeks after its announcement, the carnival reached its 56-team capacity and was turning away other teams. Entries came from everywhere between Torres Strait and the Gold Coast.

Currie is confident the enthusiasm in this first year will see the Queensland Murri Carnival become a permanent fixture.

“The hardest year is always the inaugural year,” he said. “I see it getting bigger and streamlined, although we want to keep the grassroots feel it has.”

The carnival’s success may be a springboard for greater Indigenous influence in the Queensland and national rugby leagues. Amongst other things, Currie feels the carnival will contribute to the statistics the QRL uses to allocate its funding – perhaps drawing more into rural and remote communities.

The carnival attracted some serious sponsorship, including from the Queensland Government, and Currie hopes more companies are likely for the carnival’s second year.

“We’ve got some good support but some people are a little bit shy about putting money into a new venture,” he said. “They’ll wait until we get some runs on the board. Well, we’ve got that now.”