Dalby Diehards’ top moments in history, celebrated with 15 major headlines from the past 30 seasons
In honour of the Dalby Diehards’ 30th season officially kicking off this weekend, we’ve rounded up the biggest headlines that shaped the club. From epic fundraisers, unforgettable milestones and history making games, take a look at the defining moments here.
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From nailbiting games, memorable events and epic fundraisers for a great cause, the Dalby Diehards have given its community a reason to cheer for 30 huge seasons.
With 2023 marking three decades since the club’s origin, and in celebration of the first official game kicking off this weekend, the Dalby Herald has put together some of the most heart-pounding and equally heartwarming headlines that have shaped the club.
The Dalby Diehards will take on the Wattles Warriors on Saturday, April 1 at the Dalby Leagues Club.
See the exciting stories that have surrounded the club over the years below.
Dalby Diehards support the Laine family
After making a surprise profit at Ladies Day in June 2016, the Dalby Diehards donated funds raised to a family going through a difficult time.
The club donated its $500 in extra profits to the family of Jayde Laine, a member of the local rugby league community who tragically passed away in a car crash on the Moonie Highway in May 2016 just two months after being married to wife Karlie.
The cheque was presented to Cindy Tzvetkoff, a friend of the Laine family by club ambassador Courtney Harkins and president Tom Kelly.
“I wasn’t planning on making any profit on Ladies Day, I just wanted to thank the women of the club for everything they do for the boys,” she said.
“However at the end of the night we had made a small profit so I spoke to Tom about donating the profits to Jayde’s family and he agreed to donation a portion of it.”
Dalby finally reach the top of the TRL mountain
Diehards won their maiden premiership in a one-sided grand final in 2017.
More than two decades of heartache and pain were washed away in 80 minutes, when the Dalby Diehards A-grade side empathetically stamped themselves as the best team in the competition with a thumping 44-point victory in the grand final.
Going up against the former premiers, Pittsworth Danes, the game had all the makings to be an instant classic, and in a way it was.
When Dalby scored its opening try through fullback Corey Blades in the sixth minute, the flood gate blew open.
The victory was the Diehards’ first A-grade title and coach Kerry Carmichael was quick to dedicate the win to the supporters.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said.
“We’ve got lots of supporters who turn up every week to support us and we owe this one to them.”
Read the full details of the victorious match here.
Dalby pile 108 points on lowly Goondiwindi
The Dalby Diehards moved back into the top two of the TRL A-grade premiership with the biggest win of the season over Goondiwindi.
The club maintained their unbeaten home record for the 2017 season in the most emphatic way, with their largest win.
Going up against bottom of the table Goondiwindi, the Diehards scored 20 tries in a comfortable win.
The 108-6 victory did wonders for Dalby’s for and against as they moved back into the top-two on the table with one round remaining.
Winger Alex Ambia bagged himself five tries to take his season tally to 15, with all but four Diehards crossing the line in the 102-point win.
Coach Kerry Carmichael said he was pleased with his side’s performance, claiming it was the first time all season they were able to “put together a full 80 minutes of football”.
“It was the game we probably needed to have,” he said.
“We’ve had a tough six or seven weeks so to get a game where we played well and were able to work on a few things.”
Read the full story of the epic win.
Dalby honoured on XXXX drinks
As part of a new promotion, the Dalby Diehards and the Leagues Club will be in fridges around Queensland.
In the lead up to the 2017 State of Origin series, beer manufacturer XXXX designed promotional cans supporting the Queensland team.
Each letter in the word Queenslander has a rugby league club in Queensland associated with it.
The Dalby Diehards were honoured on the cans being associated with the letter ‘D’ that was distributed statewide.
Duty manager supervisor of the Dalby Leagues Club, Nathan Marshall said the publicity would do wonders for the club on and off the field.
“Everyone comes off really well out of this, from the team on the field to the leagues club off the field,” he said.
Football clubs wax-off for a cure
Money was raised at a Dalby football club home game, which included the leg waxing for one of the coaches all in the name of Shave for a Cure.
Wheatman A-grade coach Nathan ‘Worm’ Bradley and Diehards A-grade coach Kerry Carmichael agreed to put their bodies on the line and to support Fresser Family Fighters to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation and families facing blood cancer.
The wax-off was the brainchild of the boys’ mate Shawn Fresser who hosted a World’s Greatest Shave event at Urban Paddock on March 19 in 2017, as Shawn’s mother Audrey Fresser was in battle with multiple myeloma.
“Worm had already said he’d do whatever we needed to help,” Mr Fresser said.
“Kerry admitted that he was scared about the pain of having hot wax rip hair off his legs, but he said ‘I’ll do it for Audrey’.”
See the full details of the wax event.
Diehards go down on historic night in Jandowae
The first senior rugby league game in Jandowae for 54 years happened when the Fish Hooks hosted the Dalby Diehards in 2017.
An estimated 400 people turned out to the Jandowae Sports Oval for the first time in decades.
Many Dalby locals made the journey out for the Diehards open trial game, and were treated to a high quality game of rugby league.
Diehards coach Kerry Carmichael was impressed with the standard of rugby league both teams displayed so early in the year.
“Basically as a spectator I just sat back,” he said.
“The game was pretty intense and the boys will get a lot out of that game.”
Dalby Waratahs return for club reunion
Stalwarts of the old Waratahs Rugby League club reunited at an epic Dalby Diehards home game in 2018.
The club disbanded in 1993 to join Brothers and Colts to form the Diehards.
Former Waratahs member Bob Hart said he encouraged as many former members to come and enjoy the event.
“Memorabilia will be on display as well as T-shirts which can be purchased on the day,” Mr Hart said.
“The old red and black jersey will be worn by the Diehards A grade side when they play Souths.”
Read the full reunion story here.
Diehards to farewell one of their finest
Macca: A legendary name associated with one of the Dalby Diehards greatest players.
After more than 350 games for the club, Brenton McMillan played his last game for the Diehards in 2018.
He tried to retire quietly from reserve-grade earlier that year, but A-grade coach Derek Brady asked him to sit on the bench for the weekend’s match, “because he should finish in A grade”.
McMillan said he could not have thought of a better club to be part of for that great amount of time.
“Every year and every game I have played in has been a highlight,” McMillan said.
“I just love the game of rugby league, so to play it from the age of six to now in my home town has been amazing.”
Read about the full send off here.
The emotions of a victorious grand final
The finest moment in Dalby rugby league had an undercurrent of emotion throughout the day, from a war-of-words prior to kick-off to Diehards captain Colin Green lifting the premiership trophy in 2018.
Coach Kerry Carmichael rode every emotional wave that Sunday afternoon, and talked to the Dalby Herald about the day the Diehards finally won the premiership.
The Dalby side took a commanding 32-point half time lead in what was the best 40 minutes of rugby league the team played all year.
“Thirty-two points is a lot, but there were plenty of teams who could score three quick tries and be back in the game,” Carmichael said.
“If I said I was satisfied at halftime I worried the boys would think the game was already over.
“So I told the boys if they won the first 20 minutes of the second half they would win.”
Carmichael admitted it was not until the Dalby side stretched the lead out to 36 points that he could relax.
It was after this game Carmichael took a seat back and handed the reigns to new head coach Derek Brady.
Read the full epic grand final story here.
Under-18s secure their place in Diehards history
In 2019 the Diehards young guns went down in history as the first team to bring home an under-18s TRL premiership in 25 years.
History was made last weekend when the mighty Dalby Diehards under-18 side dominated the field at Clive Berghofer stadium to bring home their first TRL premiership.
The Diehards started the game strong despite running into a headwind. Dalby defence stood strong, not letting Gatton score again after the first 15 minutes, leading to 20-12 score to Dalby by the end of the first half.
Coach Scott Hall said the win meant “everything” to the team and was an unforgettable milestones for him, the players and the club.
“There was a lot of emotion, it might not seem like much winning the 18s grand final but I won one when I was that age and it’s something you never forget,” he said.
On a mission to reunite old-school footy clubs
Dalby’s rich history in rugby league was celebrated in 2019 with a reunion of sorts for the old boys Dalby’s former rugby league clubs.
After the disbanding of the Colts, the Brothers and Waratahs amalgamated to create the Diehards – a club that earnt their stripes over a number of years of hitting the field.
Diehards took to the field for their final home game against Highfields in the ‘blue and white butcher stripes’, a replica of what the old Brothers club used to wear.
Former Brothers player and treasurer Tony Nobbs said seeing the jersey out on the field again would be an experience to remember.
“It’ll be great seeing the blue and white out on the field again, and hopefully they come home with a victory,” he said.
“It’s a time you’ll never forget.
“It’s about mateship for sure.”
Read the full reunion story here.
‘Footy family’ rallies around Sonny
Despite a tough battle with leukaemia, Sonny Carmichael had a world of support behind him from his family, as well as the Dalby Diehards community who showed their support in 2019.
Brave, resilient and inspiring aren’t usually the first words that come to mind to describe a two-year-old boy but that’s exactly what Sonny Carmichael is.
Sonny was airlifted from Dalby to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where specialists diagnosed him with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and began treatment immediately.
The worst moment in the Carmichael’s lives was met with immediate support and care from their family within the Dalby Diehards club.
“It’s just the phone calls and stuff just to say we’re thinking of you,” Petera Carmichael said.
“That’s what we probably appreciate the most.”
Super coach thanks ‘holy moly’ team for emphatic win
Dalby’s best coach for 2021 attributed her win to her wonderful team of ‘amazing girls’, who throughout the season improved and won against tough competition in the region.
Elin Salase-Edmonds won out against several other inspiring sporting coaches across Dalby to be crowned the town’s best for 2021.
The superstar coach took on the open women’s side role as its first woman coach in Diehards history, with Salase-Edmonds saying it was a stressful, yet rewarding season.
“The game against (Toowoomba) Brothers was special as my brother had just passed away, and my girls had stepped up for me to win that, so that was pretty emotional,” she said.
“Women’s squads in Dalby are definitely growing in rugby league, and in other codes such as rugby union and AFL.
“It’s fun to find new things and grow, and if they’re keen to have a good laugh with an amazing team, they should come down and play for the Diehards.”
Revealed: Future Dalby Diehards star crowned as town’s cutest baby
An adorable 12-week-old boy won Dalby’s cutest baby competition for 2021, with his loving mum having aspirations of rugby league greatness for her young bub.
Eboni Carmichael and James Lawton’s 12-week-old son Bowie Lawton was given the crown of Dalby’s cutest, as voted by our readers.
Born on June 15, 2021 Bowie won out against dozens of other nominees for Dalby’s cutest baby.
“He likes food, so he’ll either be a chubby boy or a footy player,” Mrs Carmichael said.
“Him playing for the Dalby Diehards is my goal, just like his dad and pop.”
Read the rest of the story here.
Rival codes unite to honour true blue Dalby larrikin
The long lasting legacy of beloved Dalby husband, sportsman and friend has resulted in a mammoth fundraising effort by two rival footy codes.
The Dalby Diehards Rugby League Football Club and Dalby and District Rugby Union Club banded together on March 13 in 2021 to raise money for the Matt Hughes Charity Shield.
Diehards A-grade manager Tony Carmichael said Matt was a local larrikin who played A-grade both codes and whose personality lit up the room.
“Everyone just gravitated towards his kindness, as he was an overall great bloke, and it showed on the night, where he had mates ranging from business people to those from out west,” Mr Carmichael said.
“This was the second year, and we decided to bring some more sponsors on board and ring around the local community and their response was amazing.”
In 2020 the clubs raised $50,000 but the 2021 event eclipsed it amassing $82,500 of donations.
Have an epic footy story that you can’t see on the list? Email emily.devon@news.com.au
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