50 NAMES: Rockhampton’s most influential sports personalities shaping the region
In honour of Rockhampton’s renowned sporting talents, see part two of our list of 50 notables from the grassroots right up to the world stage who are changing the landscape of the region for the better.
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The Rockhampton region has been growing influential athletes since its history began and the next generation of stars on and off the field are keeping the tradition well and truly alive.
From grassroots clubs to coaches, presidents and even canteen volunteers here’s but a few Rockhampton region sporting legends who are doing great things across the region and world.
This is the second part in a series of two highlighting 50 of the most influential sporting identities in the district.
Rod Laver - tennis
The legendary Rod “Rocket” Laver is arguably Rockhampton’s most accomplished athlete.
Hailed as the greatest tennis player of all time, he won 11 Grand Slam singles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles in his illustrious 24-year career.
Laver is the only player to win two calendar Grand Slams, and was ranked No.1 in nine different years, a record which still stands today.
Now 83, he lives in California but continues to be a familiar sight in the crowd at the Grand Slams.
The Rod Laver Arena, the centrepiece of the national tennis centre at Melbourne Park, and the Laver Cup, an international men’s team tournament, are named in his honour.
Laver was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and named a Legend of Australian Sport in 2002.
July 8, 2021, was declared Rod Laver Day, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of his first Wimbledon title.
Cameron Munster - rugby league
At 27 years of age, Cameron Munster is one of Central Queensland’s most decorated rugby league exports.
He is living the dream of every young footballer and is sure to be inspiring many of those in the local ranks keen to emulate his achievements.
The champion playmaker has won two NRL premierships with the Melbourne Storm, and was integral in the Queensland Maroons winning State of Origin campaigns in 2017 and 2020, named Player of the Series in the latter.
Munster, one of the most electrifying talents in the game, has also represented Australia.
Accolades that Munster has earned at Melbourne include Back of the Year in 2015, Most Improved Player in 2016 and Player of the Year in 2018.
He was also named the Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
Munster’s success is not limited to the football field.
He also has interests in commercial ventures and property, teaming up with Ringers Western to devise his own clothing range, as well as partnering with Terella Brewing in a stake of a ginger-infused brew called ‘Mad Dog’.
Vickie Hirsimaki - rugby union
Vickie Hirsimaki says she’s never been “a sit on the hill sort of person”.
If there’s a job to be done, she’ll get in and do it.
So it is with rugby union in Rockhampton and beyond.
She first got involved with the Frenchville Pioneers when her son started playing for the club at age eight.
She filled various roles before joining the committee in 2019 and in 2021 became the club’s first female president.
“I love rugby as much as my son likes playing it,” she said.
“I’ve never been a sit on the hill sort of person so if there’s a position to fill, I’ll fill it.
“Being involved gave me the opportunity to help some of the kids who have grown up around my kids, as well as other kids coming through.”
Hirsimaki said members of her rugby circle were like family to her.
“I have a great passion for rugby and for the people involved in it,” she said.
“I really enjoy watching them play, and it warms my heart that numbers are swelling and momentum around rugby is building.”
Hirsimaki was this year appointed manager of Central Queensland Women’s Rugby and oversaw the first-ever CQ open women’s trials held in Rockhampton in May where players were vying for selection in the CQ Bushrangers team to contest the Queensland Country Championships in Toowoomba in July.
Mark Knowles - hockey
Homegrown hockey legend Mark Knowles’ involvement in the game has continued since he retired from international hockey after winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
In his role as technical lead for Hockey Australia’s Men’s National Athlete Pathway Program, he is overseeing the progression of players from the grassroots level to national teams.
The four-time Olympian brings a wealth of experience to the position, having played 324 games for the Australian men’s team, the Kookaburras.
The now 38-year-old made his international debut in 2004 and captained the Kookaburras from 2014 until his retirement in April 2018.
His incredible achievements include one gold and two bronze medals from Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games gold, two World Cup titles and five Champions Trophy titles.
He was awarded an OAM in the 2015 Australia Day Honours, and was the flag bearer for the Australian team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Jack Madden - rugby league
Jack Madden is the heart and soul of the CQ Capras.
He is in his sixth season with the men’s team, five of which he has been captain.
Highly regarded by his teammates and respected by his opponents, Madden’s experience and leadership are invaluable.
The talented halfback gives 100 per cent every time he takes the field, determined to do the jersey proud.
Madden, who grew up on a property outside Duaringa, said as a boy he always dreamed of playing for the Capras.
He said to realise that dream was amazing, and to then be handed the captaincy was incredibly special.
“It means a lot, and it’s something I don’t take for granted,” he said.
“They’ve put a lot of faith in me and it’s something that drives me because I really want to see this club succeed.
“The last few years have been hard but it feels so good this year the way we’ve been going.
“That comes back to (coach) Lionel Harbin and what he’s created and to the boys I play with.
“They’re a great bunch of players and I’m really loving my footy at the moment.”
Kenrick Tucker - cycling
Kenrick Tucker’s cycling legacy lives on with Rockhampton’s velodrome named in his honour.
The son of coaching legend Ken ‘Reggie’ Tucker, he started competitive cycling at age 12.
He won a host of titles after claiming his first major victory - the Australian under-19 sprint champion in 1977.
Kenrick rode at two Commonwealth Games and two Olympic Games.
He won consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals in the 1000m sprint, his victory in Brisbane in 1982 one of his most memorable as he was battling glandular fever.
Kenrick was one of the inaugural inductees into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.
Tony Newman - cricket
Tony Newman has been described as “the lifeblood of Rockhampton junior cricket”.
His passion for the sport started when he played his first fixture at age eight for Gracemere Cricket Club.
He has filled countless roles - from coach to umpire, carnival convenor to committee member - since he first donned the whites as a junior more than 40 years ago.
He is now in his second year as president of Rockhampton Cricket (seniors and juniors) after serving for about a decade as Gracemere Junior Cricket president.
Newman was Rockhampton Junior Cricket president and junior rep coordinator from about 2014 until 2020.
He also coached Gracemere junior sides from about 2005 to 2021, as well as coaching and managing Rockhampton and Central Queensland teams.
In 2020, he was voted Central Queensland’s hardest-working sports volunteer in a poll run by The Morning Bulletin.
Scott Minto - rugby league
A 53-game NRL veteran, Scott Minto is now using his experience to nurture the new breed of rugby league stars.
After a three-year stint coaching the Yeppoon Seagulls A-grade team in the Rockhampton Rugby League competition, he was in 2020 appointed head coach of St Brendan’s College First XIII.
He guided the team to victory last year in the prestigious Aaron Payne Cup and is again at the helm as they prepare to contest the newly introduced Dolphins Cup, the third of Queensland’s premier schoolboys competitions.
Minto played 39 NRL games for the Brisbane Broncos and 14 for the North Queensland Cowboys.
He became something of a cult hero, with betting firm Sportsbet crowning him “The People’s Immortal”, erecting a temporary bronze statue outside Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in his honour in 2018.
Debbie Dark - motocross
There are few administrators more passionate about their sporting club than Debbie Dark.
She has been race secretary of the Rockhampton and District Motocross Club since 2011 and its treasurer for the past six years.
She and husband Peter, who has just stepped down as president after 10 years, have worked tirelessly to help grow the club and the sport in the region.
Debbie was instrumental in RADMX being awarded the Australian Junior Motocross Championships, which were originally to be held in 2020 but were put on hold for the past two years because of Covid.
The five-day event, which is set to bring between 300 and 500 riders to the city and provide a huge economic boost for the region, will now go ahead from September 27 this year.
Debbie also initiated the Rocky Raiser after losing her father Tim Busk to lung cancer in June 2016.
The annual motocross event has now raised more than $40,000 for various organisations, including Cancer Council Queensland, the Alton Downs Rural Fire Brigade and, most recently Dolly’s Dream.
Jamie Dwyer - hockey
Jamie Dwyer is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ever hockey players.
A four-time Olympian, he played more than 350 games for Australia and scored more than 220 goals, among them the winner which sealed Australia’s first-ever gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
A five-time World Player of the Year, Dwyer collected a host of accolades in his decorated career.
In 2011, he was named in the World All-Star team and the Australian Institute of Sport “Best of the Best” and in 2021 was inducted into the Sport Australian Hall of Fame.
Anthony Griffin - rugby league
An Emmaus College graduate, Anthony Griffin made the successful transition from rugby league player to elite level coach.
He is in the second year of a two-year contract with the St George Dragons, who are sitting just outside the top eight after 12 rounds of the Telstra Premiership.
Griffin is no stranger to the NRL, having coached the Penrith Panthers from 2016 to 2018, and the Brisbane Broncos from 2011 to 2014.
A talented hooker, he played his club football with Rockhampton Brothers before heading to Brisbane where he launched his coaching career.
Gurney Clamp - golf
Gurney Clamp would have to be one of the longest-serving sports administrators in the region, holding the position of Golf Central Queensland secretary since 1999.
“I came here from Blackwater and they told me there was a position available. I thought I’d have a go at it and I’ve been there ever since,” he explains.
Clamp started playing golf in Blackwater in 1971. He helped build the town’s course and designed two of the greens, and held various positions there, including club captain and president.
He is passionate about the development of junior golf and has worked tirelessly to help that aspect of the game flourish across the region.
He is also heavily involved in the promotion of junior, men’s and women’s golf.
Tony McMahon - racing
Rockhampton’s Tony McMahon is a familiar face - and voice - in horse racing circles in Central Queensland.
He has been involved in the racing industry for 55 years, launching his career as a race caller at Lismore as a 17-year-old.
He has since called on at least 25 race tracks across New South Wales and Queensland.
He was appointed Rockhampton Jockey Club caller in 1989, a position he held for 16 years.
He was also the caller for the Mackay Turf Club for six years, and has called at country clubs including Yeppoon, Springsure, Middlemount and Gladstone.
McMahon has also trained horses for about 36 years, one of his greatest success stories Paradis Imperial, who rewrote the record books as Australia’s winningest two-year-old filly in 2017.
Denise Edwards - touch
She stepped down as administrator of Rockhampton Touch last year but Denise Edwards will long be remembered for her contribution.
She held the position for 12 years and played a key role in helping the city maintain its incredible reputation for producing some of the best players in the country.
Edwards also helped steer the association through challenging times when Covid was at its peak.
She considers one of her greatest achievements the expansion of the Red Rooster Junior Carnival, which started with 70 teams but is now held over two days and attracts as many as 120 teams.
Her involvement with the association’s junior representative teams was also a highlight.
Peter Hunt - rugby league
There’s not much about rugby league in Rockhampton that Peter Hunt doesn’t know.
He has seen the game develop from three different perspectives - as a player, administrator and historian.
Hunt played with Norths Chargers for about 20 years, among his fondest memories his A-grade debut in 1970 when he lined up against Rockhampton Railways, which included the then Australian fullback Ray Laird.
He then took on various administrative duties for about 20 years, including .
Over the decades, he has painstakingly compiled an incredible collection of footy memorabilia, much of which featured in a display called Rugby League in Rockhampton: Celebrating 100 Years at the city’s art gallery in 2018.
Anthony Seibold - rugby league/union
Anthony Seibold has made the switch from league to union, joining Eddie Jones’s coaching staff to help England prepare for its tilt at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
A former Rockhampton Brothers rugby league junior, his playing career included stints at the Canberra Raiders, as well as the London Broncos and the Hull Kingston Rovers in the English Super League.
After an 11-year apprenticeship as a coach, Seibold realised his dream of becoming an NRL coach when appointed to the top job at the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2018 season.
He took the Rabbitohs to the finals, an achievement which earned him the Dally M Coach of the Year award.
Seibold then coached the Brisbane Broncos for two years before taking up a position with the Newcastle Knights, where he was credited with solidifying their defence which was instrumental in them making consecutive NRL finals series for the first time in 18 years.
Ian Mill - horse racing
As a Central Queensland racing columnist and CEO of Rockhampton Jockey Club, Ian Mill is across all things horse racing in the Rockhampton region.
Mr Mill, who was previously the CEO of Beef Australia and on the committee of RJC for about three years, assumed the position of CEO in August 2021 following the resignation of Tony Fenlon.
His influence in racing is far-reaching, from the social aspect to managerial.
“Horse racing has been a passion of mine for a long time, both as a volunteer on the local board, as well as having shares in racehorses, albeit on somewhat of a social scale,” he said when taking on the role.
“The thoroughbred industry has always been something I have followed keenly so when the opportunity arose to step into this role, and with my contract at Beef Australia coming to an end, I jumped at the chance.
“Rockhampton racing has so much to offer. Callaghan Park is an impressive racecourse – one of the best. The setting itself, virtually in the heart of the city, is ideal and picturesque.
“I believe the racing here is being more valued and recognised now by not just Queenslanders but followers Australia-wide. It just has so much to offer and as far as I am concerned Rockhampton, not just for the racing, is the place to be.”
Tracy Upton - touch football/rugby league
From developing junior players to playing at an elite level, touch football is in Tracy Upton’s blood.
In her role as general manager of development at Central Queensland Bulls touch football, Upton oversees hundreds, if not thousands, of players across the broader region.
CQ Bulls send representative players from both junior and senior teams to national and state events and services nine affiliates in the Central Region including Longreach Touch Association, Emerald Touch Association, Blackwater Touch Association, Clermont Touch Football, Cap Coast Touch Association, Rockhampton Touch Association, Gladstone Touch Association, Bundaberg Touch Association, and Theodore Touch Association.
Upton, who has represented the region many times herself in touch, focuses on the development of players through local clinics and is a respected representative team coach.
She is also assistant coach of the CQ Capras’ women’s rugby league team, which includes her daughters Sharni and Tamika,
Zoe Seibold - netball
Zoe Seibold started playing netball in her early years of primary school.
She progressed through the ranks at club level and rounded out her school playing career being named in the QISSN honorary team after Rockhampton Grammar Magic won the prestigious statewide carnival in 2000.
Seibold played much of her senior netball with Brothers Crimson and went on to have several seasons with the Capricorn Claws in the state league.
She got her first coaching gig in 2003 and immediately fell in love with it.
“I liked the idea of being able to give back and sharing what I had learnt with other players,” she said.
Seibold started to put her hand up for new opportunities in that sphere, which saw her take the reins at the Claws for two seasons.
She coached teams at Emmaus College and The Cathedral College before things went full circle and she was appointed head coach of Grammar’s Magic team, a role she’s been relishing for the past three years.
Mick Busby - rugby league
Having represented at a national level himself, Mick Busby is now coaching the next generation of rugby league players to stardom in Rockhampton.
The director of sport at Rockhampton private school The Cathedral College has a proud sporting history, having represented Queensland Country and Australian Universities in rugby union in the 1990s.
He also represented Australia at the World Triathlon Championships in Beijing in 2011, after finishing in overall second spot in the 40-44 year age group Olympic distance following races in Geelong, Mooloolaba and Sydney.
While most of his attention is now on coaching schoolboys rugby league, Busby also has a keen interest in all sport across the region and has been a sports commentator on ABC Capricornia’s Saturday Grandstand program since 2018.
Bevan Dingley - soccer
From the age of 16, Rockhampton’s Bevan Dingley has been coaching soccer and he’s still going strong.
The director of football at Nerimbera Football Club has had a decorated playing and professional career in the sport.
He began his professional coaching career at Frenchville Sports Club where he was a sports administrator for nine years while also gaining junior and senior coaching and youth development qualifications.
Dingley has also had experience coaching representative teams and coaching sides playing against EPL club Charlton Athletic FC, A-League teams and State League teams.
From 2006-2012 Dingley was also CEO of the former Capricorn Cougars State League club.
Dingley has been with Nerimbera since 1994 and during that time he has mentored and developed countless junior and senior players on and off the field.
Onéhunga Mata‘uiau - rugby union
Onehunga Mata‘uiau is using his vast rugby union experience to help develop the region’s rising stars.
The former international who represented Samoa for 10 years is the director of the Rugby Skills Academy, designed to enhance the skills and technique of players aged nine and older.
Mata‘uiau, who has also been coaching for more than 20 years, is passionate about developing grassroots rugby and coaches school-aged teams in both union and league.
He is also involved with the CQ Brahmans and Central Queensland regional country teams which compete at the Queensland Country Cup.
Marie Sweeney - hockey
Matriarch of Rockhampton’s Sweeney family, Marie Sweeney is an adored member of the Rockhampton hockey community.
Sweeney, whose family has a combined 200+ year association with the Park Avenue Hockey Club, has been a passionate player, coach and volunteer in the city’s hockey fraternity for decades.
Sweeney, aged in her 90s, first began playing hockey in 1946 and has been the ‘driving force’ behind many hockey programs and projects across Central Queensland in the 76 years since.
Her first stint as secretary of Park Avenue Hockey Club was in 1979-81, she was treasurer from 1983-84 and stepped back in as secretary from 2003-2007. She has been a life member of the club since 1978.
Her dedication to the sport was recognised with a Hockey Queensland Distinguished Service Medal in 2019 and again in 2021 when she was named Rockhampton’s Sports Official of the Year in the Australia Day awards.
In 2021, Sweeney was still the assistant secretary and bingo convenor at Park Avenue.
Todd Wells - cricket, school sport
From the cricket pitch to the rugby fields, on any given weekend you can find Todd Wells at a sporting event in Rockhampton.
A talented representative cricket player himself, Wells is also passionate about coaching the next generation of players.
He has worked at the Rockhampton Grammar School for the past 19 years and is currently the director of co-curricular at the elite private school while also overseeing much of the school’s rugby program.
He is also the match director of Rockhampton Cricket Incorporated.
Craig Jervis - motor sport
Craig Jervis has been around cars and motorbikes for the best part of his life.
He was a keen racer and became involved with the Central Queensland Motor Sporting Club in 2010.
He started as a volunteer before doing two stints as president and he is currently the vice-president.
Jervis was the driving force behind the annual Gold Rush Hill Sprint, the fourth edition of which will be held on July 9 and 10.
The event, the longest hill sprint in Australia, attracted close to 170 teams last year.
Jervis has been lobbying tirelessly for a motor sports precinct to be built in the region and has made it his lifelong goal to see that come to fruition.
Neal Tweedy - basketball
Neal Tweedy has helped shape the careers of countless basketballers in his 23 years at the helm of the Rockhampton Rockets.
The Rockets have been a model of consistency during his tenure, winning four QBL titles and one national championship and during the 2000s, featuring in nine consecutive grand finals.
Tweedy is highly regarded by his players and well respected by his peers.
A modest mentor, he is grateful for the opportunities that coaching has presented to him.
“I wouldn’t do it unless it was enjoyable, and I’m honoured to have such a long career in a sport I love,” he said.
“I’m lucky to have coached for this long and that I have an organisation that has the trust in me to run its program.”
A number of Rockets’ players, such as Stephen Weigh, have gone on to play in the NBL though Tweedy is reluctant to take credit for their achievements.
“Every player has their own success, I don’t think it comes from one coach,” he said.
“A player’s success comes from their dedication and hard work.
“I may have a small part to play in it but ultimately it comes down to how hard they work as an individual and how much they want to improve.”
Tweedy said he was proud to have such a lengthy association with a small association which has “punched well and truly above its weight”.
“That’s come from a lot of different areas - it comes from great support from the community, our sponsorship base and, of course, great players.
“You don’t win titles without great players, and I’ve been fortunate to coach some great players,” he said.
Kim Applewaite - cricket/Aussie rules
She’s the bubbly personality who sells you a hot pie or a cold beer with a warm smile and some lively conversation.
Kim Applewaite has been the canteen convenor for Rockhampton Cricket since 2018, devoting countless hours to the role.
It’s a labour of love for the mother of two, who got involved in cricket as a scorer when her eldest son Travis started playing for Frenchville at age 10.
“I would always score for the Frenchville junior teams and any time Travis played rep for Rockhampton or Central Queensland we would take him where he had to go and would score there as well,” she said.
Applewaite said people put her name forward for the convenor’s job, knowing that her penchant for hard work and her excellent organisational skills would make her an ideal candidate.
Her job involves ordering food and beverages, restocking the fridges, making fresh sandwiches, salad bowls and fruit bowls and also ensuring the facilities are spick and span.
But her tasks go well beyond the servery and kitchen.
If there’s an umpire needed on field three, she’ll organise one; if there’s no field markers on field two, she’ll find them; if there’s stumps needed on field one, she’ll search them out.
It’s a demanding role, to which she devotes countless hours, but it’s one she enjoys.
She is also a regular behind the counter at Rockhampton Panthers Aussie rules home games, also played at the Rockhampton Cricket Grounds, after younger son Steven joined their ranks.
“I’m there all the time, it’s my home away from home,” Applewaite said.
“Sometimes in the cricket season, my husband says I should just take my bed down there.
“I do really like it. It’s a service that I can provide to the clubs to help them out.”
Applewaite said she also enjoyed the social interaction.
“I used to be the lollipop lady at Mt Archer school and a lot of people come up and say, ‘Weren’t you my lollipop lady back when?’
“Others come up and introduce me to their new baby so it’s really nice that I get to see the next generation as well.”
Reggie Tucker - cycling
After 50 years, Rockhampton cycling icon Reggie Tucker called time on his decorated coaching career in 2021, but his influence is still far reaching across the sport.
The 85-year-old has helped shape the careers of hundreds of cyclists, the most notable Anna Meares, who is considered the greatest female track cyclist of all time.
He also coached his son Kenrick to two Commonwealth Games, where he won consecutive gold medals in the men’s 1000m match sprint, as well as two Olympics.
Tucker said at the time of his retirement he still planned to stay involved with the sport that has been such a big part of his life.
Tucker was 14 when he first saddled up in cycling as a competitor. He did most of his racing locally, his highest achievement a silver medal at the Australian Masters.
Tamika Upton - rugby league
The rise and rise of rugby league sensation Tamika Upton continues.
The Rockhampton 25-year-old has reportedly just become one of the first six-figure players in NRLW history, signing with the Newcastle Knights for the 2022 season.
She makes the move from the Brisbane Broncos, with whom she won two NRLW premierships in 2019 and 2020.
Upton made the switch to league after a successful touch career in which she represented Australia.
In her first full season in league in 2019, playing with the Yeppoon Seagulls, she earned Queensland Country selection.
The Broncos then came knocking, signing the talented playmaker who has established herself as one of the most exciting prospects in the game.
Upton was instrumental in the Queensland women’s victories in the 2020 and 2021 State of Origins and impressed in her debut for the Indigenous All Stars this year.
She has joined the CQ Capras for the back end of the 2022 BMD Premiership, helping guide them to the minor premiership and a home semi-final to be played on May 28.
Joel Coughlan - table tennis
Table tennis player Joel Coughlan’s sporting journey is nothing short of inspirational.
Winning a silver medal at last year’s Paralympics was a dream come true for the Rockhampton athlete who had three and a half toes amputated in 2007 after a work-related incident in which half a tonne of mining equipment fell off a forklift on to his right foot.
Despite the horror injury, countless surgeries, lengthy stints in hospital and a gruelling rehabilitation program, Coughlan explains it was a phone call from a Table Tennis Australia administrator in the latter stages of his lengthy recovery that planted the idea of playing Para sport.
He returned to the game, making the Australian squad in 2009 and going on to play numerous international tournaments.
He described the Paralympics as “the ultimate” and he was “absolutely stoked” to win silver as part of the Australian men’s team.
Coughlan was also co-captain of the Australian para table tennis team, which finished with two gold and four silver medals, the country’s best result at a Paralympic Games.
He continues to compete in Rockhampton’s open grade fixtures, as well as training and assisting with the development of other players.
Coughlan was named the Sports Person of the Year in the Rockhampton Regional Council’s 2022 Australia Day Awards.
Anna Meares - cycling
It may have been a while since Anna Meares rode a lap around the Kenrick Tucker Velodrome in Rockhampton, but the champion local cyclist will likely inspire and influence aspiring riders in the sport for generations to come.
Blackwater-born Meares, who shaped her junior racing career in Rockhampton, was an 11-time world champion, and won six Olympic and eight Commonwealth Games medals.
She was the Australian flag bearer at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the million word-class velodrome at Chandler in Brisbane is named in her honour.
While Meares retired from professional racing in 2016, she is still heavily involved in the sport.
In 2021 she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and is currently a general manager of Commonwealth Games Australia and also works as a motivational speaker, sports commentator and MC.
Jess Jonassen - cricket
All-rounder Jess Jonassen has been a fixture in the Australian women’s cricket team since 2012.
She has won four ICC T20 World Cups with the Australian team, the most recent in April 2022 courtesy of a 71-run win over England in New Zealand.
She was last week named in the 15-member Australian squad for the upcoming Tri-Series against Ireland and Pakistan and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
On the domestic scene, she captains both the Queensland Fire in the Women’s National Cricket League and the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League.
She has compiled an impressive list of honours and accolades and in October 2019 became the fourth woman to have 100 ODI wickets for Australia.
Lionel Harbin - rugby league
Rugby league coach Lionel Harbin has the CQ Capras men’s team in winning form in the Hostplus Cup, the QRL’s statewide competition.
The team has won five of its eight games, including four on the trot to start the season, to be sitting sixth in the 14-team competition.
Harbin, who has a lengthy association with the Capras, is in his first full season as head coach of the club after his interim appointment to the job in 2015.
A highly rated hooker, he started his coaching career in the Super League as academy development officer with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
He has coached underage Capras teams, including the under-21s last year.
Announcing the appointment last year, Capras’ CEO Peter White said Harbin was a “great fit”, saying his passion, experience and genuine care made him an obvious choice.
Katrina Clifford - basketball
When it comes to Rockhampton’s basketball scene, Katrina Clifford has been an integral figure in the sport for many years and will continue that trend in 2022 as a member of the CQ University Cyclones team.
Clifford has been a long-time member of the group and will this year suit up for her 18th season in the QBL competition.
For many years Clifford has been the side’s captain and the crafty guard is known to possess one of the best jump shots in the game.
A keen swimmer in her younger days, Clifford’s basketball talent was first recognised by her PE teacher Corey Munson who saw her “mucking around” on the school courts when she was a teenager and urged her to attend a training session with the Rockettes (now Cyclones).
Nearly two decades later, she’s still going strong.
Graeme Brady - Frenchville Sports Club
From cricket to basketball, soccer and even Aussie rules, Rockhampton’s Graeme Brady is a stalwart of sport right across the region.
The former Rockhampton councillor, who has been the president of Frenchville Sports Club since 1995, has even been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his significant service to the community of Rockhampton.
Now in his 70s, Brady has been heavily involved in sporting organisations, community groups and industry groups since he was 19 years old.
He has worked with Rockhampton Cricket Inc, Rockhampton Basketball, Frenchville Sports Club and, in later years, AFL Capricornia.
In his earlier days he even kicked a ball around on Frenchville soccer team from the late 1950s to 1988.
Craig McCormack - triathlon/running
Craig McCormack is passionate about getting people involved in physical activity.
He has managed to do that through his tireless work with Rockhampton parkrun, Rockhampton Road Runners and the Fitzroy Frogs Triathlon Club.
The savvy sports administrator sees opportunities everywhere and has been instrumental in introducing a number of exciting new events to the region’s sporting calendar.
Among them are the Rockhampton Triathlon, which features a women’s only, junior and all-abilities events, and the GKI Trail Run, one of Queensland’s most spectacular trail run/hike events.
McCormack was named the Sports Official of the Year in the Rockhampton Regional Council’s Australia Day Awards, described as “the shining light of improving the health and fitness of the Rockhampton region”.
Rob Crow - rugby league
The Crow family is synonymous with rugby league in Central Queensland - and Rob Crow has been a prominent figure both on and off the field.
A former captain of the CQ Capras, he has continued to be a major player in the game.
Now the Queensland Rugby League Central Division manager and a member of the Management of Browne Park, Crow was a driving force in bringing NRL games to Rockhampton for the first time last year.
The city successfully hosted three NRL games, including a semi-final.
Crow has also actively lobbied for the upgrade of Browne Park, the city’s rugby league headquarters.
A keen swimmer, he is also a life member of the Emu Park Surf Lifesaving Club.
Gavin Shuker - touch/Rocky Sports Club
Rockhampton’s Gavin Shuker can make the proud boast of being among touch’s elite - and when you look at the numbers you can see why.
He represented Australia a record 87 times and is the only player to have scored more than 100 touchdowns for his country.
He played at five World Cups, winning four of them, and holds the record for the most touchdowns in a World Cup game - the 11 he scored against Luxembourg in 2011.
He was part of Queensland open teams from 1993 until his retirement in 2009 and has played in countless State of Origin and Trans-Tasman series.
His outstanding achievements were recognised in 2019 when he was named in Touch Football Australia‘s golden jubilee 14-member men’s open team.
He has also given plenty back to the game as a long-serving member of the Rockhampton Touch Association committee and chairman of Queensland Touch.
An astute businessman, he also transformed the vacant CQ Leagues Club into the Rocky Sports Club, which is now home to dozens of sporting organisations.
Barb Knowles - hockey
When it comes to hockey in Central Queensland, Barb Knowles has been there for the long haul.
She began her hockey journey at age 12 in Tasmania and went on to represent both her home state and Queensland.
Over the years she has also been a devoted coach, dedicated umpire, hard-working official and steadfast supporter.
Knowles has been involved with the Rockhampton Hockey Association for 45 years, more than a dozen of them as president.
In 2019, she was named Rockhampton‘s Sports Official of the Year in the Australia Day awards.
She was instrumental in securing funding for the first synthetic turf hockey field built at Kalka Shades in 1996, as well as for its resurfacing in 2006 and for a second international standard field.
She was the driving force behind the first international hockey series to be played in Rockhampton in 2006, and the architect behind the successful submission that brought the 2019 Oceania Cup to the city in September.
Dan Withers - touch football, fitness
Whether it’s representing Australia on the world touch football stage to putting first-timers through their paces at the gym, Dan Withers is a major player in Rockhampton sport and fitness.
The star touch football player has won every tournament touch football has to offer, from Rockhampton A1 men’s championships to World Cup wins.
Having started his coaching career at age 13, Withers has since coached and led sporting teams and individuals to become national champions on six separate occasions.
Withers also owns and operates popular Rockhampton fitness brand VidaFit, which has two locations in Rockhampton.
He founded VidaFit in 2014 and has since grown it into a fitness empire, coaching hundreds of locals over the years.
Withers has qualifications as a Crossfit coach and in Crossfit gymnastics, weightlifting and kids and much more.
Aaron Harmsworth - cricket and hockey
As a champion hockey and cricket player in his personal life to teaching PE at high school in his professional life, it is fair to say Aaron Harmsworth lives and breathes sport.
Harmsworth, who is the Head of Department for Health and Physical Education at North Rockhampton State High School, influences the lives of hundreds of students every year through general teaching and school sport coaching.
On a personal level, Harmsworth has been a core member of Wanderers Hockey Club in Rockhampton for many years as a coach, player and president and has also represented Queensland countless times in the sport.
During the summer months he swaps his hockey stick for a cricket bat, playing for Gracemere in the Rockhampton region competition and also at representative levels.
Robert Beak - tennis
Former state representative player Robert Beak has coached countless Rockhampton tennis stars over the past two decades.
His coaching academy, Beaks Tennis, has grown to be the largest in the Rockhampton region after first starting in 1996.
Beak has also rubbed shoulders with some of Australia’s top tennis stars, including Samantha Stosur, who he hit a few rallies with before submitting a report on her strengths and weaknesses as part of his final examination to become a professional tennis coach.
Beaks Tennis has helped produce Central Queensland Junior Champions, State Age Champions, Rod Laver Junior State Champions and 1000s of players including the likes of Storm Sanders, who played in the Australian Open.
Amanda Ohl - rugby league
As the head coach of Rockhampton’s highly successful Capras women’s rugby league side, Amanda Ohl’s influence in the sport is wide-reaching.
From identifying talent to ensuring her players put their best foot forward every time they run onto the field, Ohl is integral in growing women’s rugby league in Central Queensland.
Ohl is an experienced player, coach and administrator in rugby league and had worked for Queensland Rugby League for eight years as an operations manager when she took on the Capras head coach role in 2020.
In that time, she was instrumental in helping establish girls and women’s league across Central Queensland.
Ohl has an extensive knowledge of women’s rugby league both on and off the field.
She played with the inaugural Capras women’s side in 2012.
Mark Wallin - Aussie rules
Mark Wallin is undeniably one of the region’s most inspirational sporting coaches.
In his seven years at the helm of the Yeppoon Swans A-grade men, he guided them to a national sporting record as well as six straight AFL Capricornia flags.
The team’s 2020 grand final win was their 89th straight victory, which meant they claimed the record for the most consecutive wins in Aussie rules history held for 44 years by South Australian team Heathfield-Aldgate.
Wallin is a master tactician and a highly regarded mentor who demanded excellence from his players.
They respected him for it, and they delivered it every time they stepped on the field.
Wallin announced his retirement after the history-making performance, saying he and his team had been on a “wonderful ride together”.
But he was not away from the game for long, taking the reins with the Yeppoon women’s team at the start of season 2021.
He guided them to the grand final that year, and they are currently sitting atop the ladder in 2022.
Wayne Clifford - Aussie rules, triathlon
From Aussie Rules to triathlon, cycling, running and beyond, Wayne ‘Shimma’ Clifford has been a well-known character on Rockhampton’s sporting scene for decades.
As a foundation member of Kangaroos Brothers AFC, which was founded in 1981, Clifford has been heavily involved in Aussie Rules for more than 40 years from playing more than 300 games for the club to coaching roles and even the club’s management.
In 2020 he was named a Club Patron for his long term support and involvement with Brothers.
“This club is everything to me. My mum and dad were co-founders of the club and now my kids and nephews play here,” Clifford previously told The Morning Bulletin.
Clifford has also been heavily involved in the Central Queensland triathlon scene as race organiser and president for the Frenchville Frogs Triathlon club over the years.
He is also well known for his commentary skills, with his voice often booming through the speakers across cricket fields and at the annual Rocky River Run event.
Shane Kingston - swimming
He was once a star in the pool in his own right, but Shane Kingston is best known now for coaching swimmers to stardom in Rockhampton and beyond.
Born and raised in Bundy, Kingston trained for nine years under the guidance of the late Alan Turner in the Bundaberg Swimming Club and reached state and national level before turning his attention to coaching.
Since moving to Rockhampton he has built a squad of competitive swimmers and is the owner-operator of a learn-to-swim school that serves hundreds of students.
In 2013, the Rocky City Swim Club coach was selected on the coaching staff for the national junior swim team competing at the Junior World Swimming Championships in Dubai - which was his first time overseas with a national team.
Previously, he had been part of multiple Queensland Academy of Sport tours to China.
Over the years he has coached swimming stars such as Rockhampton’s Alanna Bowles who competed at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacific Games.
His next champion in the making is Taryn Roberts, who he has compared to Bowles in the past, and who recently trialled for the 2022 Australian Commonwealth Games squad.
Des Upton - boxing
Boxing trainer Des Upton has been helping shape the lives of youth across Central Queensland for decades.
Des has dedicated his life to improving the lot of young men through his boxing and behavioural techniques.
A railway worker, Des started his selfless work in Mitchell before moving to Rockhampton, then to Bluff and Blackwater.
At age 65, he returned to Rockhampton, and soon had 20 young men training under his house.
He later moved to the Rockhampton PCYC where his program continued to flourish.
Des has trained more than 30 Australian champions in his time and says he couldn’t count the number of individuals he has helped along the way.
Michael Fletcher - rugby league
Michael Fletcher is a familiar face on the Rockhampton rugby league scene.
He has held a host of positions since he was first appointed vice-president of Rockhampton Brothers Junior Rugby League in 2004
He describes himself as a “late starter” to the game, playing his first fixture for Brothers in the under-14 division.
After enjoying 10 years on the playing field, he shifted his focus to the administrative side of things.
His lengthy resume includes everything from coaching to securing sponsorships to sports trainer for Rocky Rustlers junior rep teams, manager of junior and senior CQ Capras and Central Crows teams, media coordinator and carnival coordinator, as well as a director on the Capras board.
He was in 2021 elected president of the Rocky Junior League.
Michael said he loved to see junior talent progress through the ranks.
“The most satisfying thing is to watch the young men and women of our competition come through some very good coaching programs delivered by our clubs, through the junior representative programs and go onto better things on and off the field,” he said.
“The game has evolved over the past 19 years I have been involved and the focus on wellbeing and off-field skills is more at the forefront of the game.”
Fletcher said he also appreciated meeting people from all areas of rugby league as well as the lifelong friendships he has made.
Kerry Smyth - trampolining
Rockhampton’s Kerry Smyth has been involved in trampolining for more than 40 years.
She was a competitor for three years in her late teens before making the transition to coaching.
She has been a competition convener since 1985 and coached at every level, holding the position of state and national head coach.
Smyth was head coach at Victoria Park Gymnastic and Trampoline Club in Rockhampton for 35 years before launching her own venture, Extreme Trampoline CQ, in Yeppoon in 2020.
In the same year, she received the Trampoline Special Recognition Award from Gymnastics Australia in 2020.
She said at the time that while it was nice to be acknowledged, it was her athletes who gave her the greatest pleasure.
Among her greatest success stories were Patrick Cooper, who represented Australia at the first Youth Olympics, and Jarrod Smyth, who won five straight world championships.
Aaron Kleier - bull riding
Clermont cowboy Aaron Kleier has made history in the bull riding arena.
He claimed an unprecedented fourth straight PBR Australia championship in November last year.
That victory means he has tied with David Kennedy for the most national titles won by a rider in league history.
Kleier, 24, became the first bull rider to win three straight titles in 2021.
He is currently placed fourth in the race for the 2022 championship, just 36.5 points behind leader Cody Heffernan.
Consistency is key for Kleier, who recently captained Queensland to victory in the 2022 PBR Origin Championship.
“It always feels good to get my bulls ridden, that’s what I aim to do every time and keep my consistency high,” Kleier said after the interstate success.
“Every time we put the Queensland jersey on, the boys get in and have a dig and we’ve got a real good team.”
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