Country sports clubs to watch in 2024 following a huge 12 months of success
They are the Queensland country sports clubs that firm as the must-watch organisations in 2024 following a mammoth 12 months of success. Discover them here
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They are the Queensland country sports clubs who firm as the must-watch organisations in 2024 following a mammoth 12 months of success. Discover them here
Cairns
Brothers Leprechauns (netball)
Leprechauns Netball Club possesses the deepest talent pool of any club in Cairns.
They appeared in four grand finals across senior and U18 competitions in 2023, winning three titles.
Leprechauns lost the Senior Division One Grand Final to a dominant Sharks side but claimed three premierships in Senior Division Two, Three, and U18A.
Through their campaign, they demonstrated they could not only compete at the highest level in the top division but also field capable championship-winning sides across other divisions.
They have also become a talent pool for the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy, with Ella Sheppard, Charlotte Jonsen, Ciarn MacBride, and Brooke Harold achieving selection.
JCU Mariners (rugby union)
JCU Mariners capped yet another brilliant campaign by claiming a third straight premiership and fourth in five years.
The Mariners have been the benchmark in the past few seasons, and their thumping 65-17 triumph against Wanderers put the cherry on top of their successful 2023.
JCU also contributed plenty of players to the FNQ representative team.
But their reserve grade team’s ability to overcome a confident Wanderers side in a hard-fought grand final sealed their place as the season’s best rugby club.
The Green Machine did fantastically well to reach all three senior grand finals – A-grade, reserves and women – but walked away empty-handed.
Kangaroos (rugby league)
Kangaroos brought two major trophies back to Vico Oval after several outstanding grand finals to cap a huge a year for the club.
The women’s team was the first premier crowned, dominating Yarrabah to end a dominant campaign on top.
Kangaroos won a thrilling under-18s decider after the buzzer, courtesy of a sideline conversion via McFarlane Misi in one of the biggest moments of the year.
The club’s reserve grade team also made the grand final but fell 12-10 to Innisfail is another nailbiter, while the A-grade team bowed out in the semi finals.
Ivanhoes claimed the Jack Seary Memorial Shield as FNQRL’s official club champions, which takes the regular season campaigns in the top four grades (A-grade, reserves, under-18s and women) into account, but did not score a grand final appearance.
Leichhardt FC – football
The Lions roared in 2023 to stake their claim as being the new powerhouse of football in Far North Queensland.
Leichhardt romped to the treble in the Premier Women’s division, while the Premier Men’s team knocked off Mareeba United in an enthralling grand final to claim a second straight FQPL premiership.
The Lions featured in seven grand finals, and with a superb disciplinary record were named the FQ Far North and Gulf community club of the year.
Norths (cricket)
No team has dominated the Cricket Far North competition like Norths did in the summer of 2022/23.
Norths finished a staggering 22 points clear of second-placed Atherton to run away with the minor premiership, and while they were the first team through to the grand final the decider was not played due to rain.
Young gun Aidan Firman finished the season with 501 runs at an average of 62.63, finishing just eight runs short of Atherton’s captain Tom Boorman for the overall title.
Firman was joined by Dan Freebody (328 runs) and Angus Warnock (325 runs) inside the competition’s top six run scorers.
Freebody was also Norths’ leading wicket taker with 20 wickets at 17.40, finishing fourth overall and just above teammate bowler Mark Ellis (19 wickets at 12) who finished fifth.
The left arm all-rounder capped off a big year when he and now former Barron captain Andrew Phelps were named joint winners of CFN’s Best and Fairest Award, the first time in 50 years the umpire-voted gong has ended in a tie.
Saints (Aussie rules)
Across all divisions, Cairns Saints were the most successful AFL Cairns club of 2023.
Saints were a top-three side across seven competitions, with both their senior men and senior women’s sides making it to the grand final.
A club that loves to throw young talents in the deep end, they have become admired across the league for their ability to develop teenage prospects into marquee players while remaining strong competitors across all competitions.
Central Trinity Beach Bulldogs also fielded a number of strong sides, including their Development side and Division 3 side, both of which garnered premierships. However, both their senior men’s and women’s teams fell short of expectations in 2023.
Souths Hockey Club
Souths Hockey Club was a force to be reckoned with in 2023.
Souths featured in nine out of the 14 grand finals, winning seven – including both men’s and women’s senior competitions.
That heavy participation and conversion rate, which also included both men’s and women’s B-grade minor premierships, allowed Souths to pip Saints for the club we rated as the best.
Saints took out Cairns Hockey’s Club of the Year award, in a season in which they had nine sides feature in grand finals, with the U18 Saints Blue Women’s side and the B Grade Women’s side taking out premierships in 2023.
Rockhampton
Wanderers (hockey)
Wanderers Hockey Club had a year to remember, with its teams making all 10 grand finals in the Rockhampton Hockey Association competition.
It won the four junior grand finals - under-13 boys and girls and under-16 boys and girls.
The club also claimed four of the six senior premierships - the A3 women, A2 men and women and the A-grade men.
The men in red and blue have dominated the senior division, winning 17 of the past 18 titles which included a run of 14 in a row.
Wanderers, which produced Olympians Jamie Dwyer and Matt Gohdes, also had a number of players who earned regional, state and national honours.
Yeppoon Swans (Aussie rules)
The Yeppoon Swans juggernaut rolled on in 2023, with the senior men winning a ninth straight AFL Capricornia flag.
However, their national record-making run of consecutive wins ended on 128 games after they were beaten for the first time since mid-2015 by the Glenmore Bulls in Round 6.
They surpassed the previous record of 88 straight, set by South Australia’s Heathfield-Aldgate in the 1970s, with their 2020 grand final win.
For the second year in a row, the club celebrated the senior double, with their women edging Panthers by three points in a hard-fought decider.
The Swans also featured in three other grand finals - reserve grade and the under-17 and under-15 boys.
Clinton (football)
The Green Grubs supporters had plenty to cheer about as Clinton Football Club shone in season 2023.
Its teams featured in four of the five Football Queensland Central Coast grand finals, winning three of them - the Premier League men and women and the under-23 men.
The men’s outfit hoisted the coveted Wesley Hall Cup for the fifth time in the club’s history after a 3-nil win over Nerimbera in the grand final.
It capped a perfect performance for the team, which went through the regular season and finals series unbeaten.
Clinton also swept the FQPLCC men’s awards with Matt Varnes winning the Gold Boot (31 goals), Bailey Barrett the Goalkeeper of the Year, Josh Noonah Player of the Year and Michael Stephen Coach of the Year.
Norths Chargers (rugby league)
Norths Chargers had the highest representation in grand finals, playing in five of the 11 junior and senior deciders.
Their under-19s hoisted the premiership trophy, breaking a grand final hoodoo in which they had made the big dance five times in the previous six years, only to be beaten every time.
Their junior stocks are also very healthy, with their under-13 and under-14 boys and under-17 boys and girls making the finals.
The under-14 boys and under-17 girls were victorious.
Rockhampton Brothers (rugby league)
Rockhampton Brothers enjoyed a big season.
Their senior women claimed a fourth straight title and their reserve grade team went back-to-back with victory over Biloela in the big dance.
The club’s under-19s also featured in the final but were denied victory.
Their under-15 boys, however, got the job done to claim a well-deserved premiership.
Yeppoon Seagulls (rugby league)
Yeppoon tightened its stranglehold on the Rockhampton Rugby League A-grade competition by winning a fourth straight title.
It makes them just the third club to have achieved that feat in the history of the competition, which started in 1918.
It also has some good young talent coming through the ranks, with the under-15 and under-16 boys making their respective grand finals, with the older age group winning the premiership.
Colts (rugby union/netball)
It was double delight for Colts as their teams enjoyed dual code success.
Colts men’s rugby union team took out the Rugby Capricornia A-grade premiership, breaking a 12-year title drought.
It rekindled the glory days for the club, which is the only one in the history of the competition to have won four straight titles (2008 to 2011).
A week later and it was the club’s netballers who were celebrating victory.
They beat familiar foes Brothers Crimson to claim their second premiership in three years.
Rockhampton Cyclones (basketball - best elite club)
The Rockhampton Cyclones are undoubtedly one of the most consistent sporting teams at the elite level.
They made it to the QBL (now NBL1 North) playoffs three times in the five years before their grand final appearance in 2023.
They timed their run to perfection, building momentum in the back half, winning seven games straight to shore up their place in the finals series.
After knocking off the highly fancied Logan Thunder and Darwin Salties, they were beaten by the Northside Wizards in the three-game grand final series.
In recognition of a stellar season, Drew Fenton was named NBL1 Coach of the Year and power forward Samantha Bowman was named in the NBL1 All Star 5.
CQ Capras (rugby league - best elite club honourable mention)
The CQ Capras were also in the mix, based heavily on the performance of their men’s team but their other outfits failed to enjoy similar success.
The Lionel Harbin coached men fell just one win short of a place in the Q-Cup’s big dance, knocked out in the preliminary final by Brisbane Tigers.
But they posted some impressive stats in the 2023 season.
They were fourth at the end of the regular season, which was second only to their third-placed finish in 2009.
Their for-and-against of +118 was the club’s best ever, beating +70 last year when they made it to week two of the finals.
Their six opening wins was their best ever start, and their second longest winning run in the club’s history.
The Capras were in the top eight all year, leading the comp from Rounds four to eight.
Mackay
North Mackay Saints (Aussie rules)
The North Mackay Saints completed a year as historic as they come this AFL Mackay season.
The senior men cemented their place as the greatest dynasty in AFL Mackay history by winning a groundbreaking fifth consecutive premiership.
But the Saints’ women’s side also made history, capping off a dominant season to breakthrough for a maiden premiership after 10 consecutive finals appearances.
The Saints also performed strongly in the junior ranks with the under-14s claiming a premiership, while the under-17 boy’s reached the preliminary final and the under-12s the first week of finals.
The Saints reserves came up short in the decider, but it all six teams they fielded in 2023 reached the finals, with half going on to claim premierships.
Mackay Brothers/Brothers Bulldogs (Rugby league)
Narrowly pipping Magpies, Brothers were the overall standout across men’s, women’s and junior rugby league in 2023.
Magpies did have the wood over Brothers in both the men’s A-grade and U20 grand finals, however, on top of reaching the deciding match in both, Brothers would also claim the A-grade women’s premiership.
In the junior ranks, Brothers Bulldogs were the most successful club, picking up under-13, under-15, and under-17 boy’s premierships. As such, Brothers were crowned junior club champions and also picked up the Ivan Bradford Award from having the most teams in grand finals.
Brothers under-14 girl’s side also finished runners up, and both under-16 boy’s sides reached the semi-finals.
While the premiership success was great, it could be argued the Bulldogs greatest achievement was producing six NRL contracted players in 2023. Kayne Smith, Declan Grady and Norman Campbell all committed to the North Queensland Cowboys, while Jake Bryan put pen to paper with the Knights, Adam McSherry the Broncos, and Grange Womal the Titans.
Proserpine-Whitsunday Raiders (Rugby union)
The Raiders continued their dominance Andre Houston in the Mackay Rugby Union 2023 season, downing Moranbah in a tense final to be crowned champions.
It was the club’s fifth grand final appearance and third championship since Houston took the reigns by chance in 2017, but it will be the club’s last under the master coach as he’s set to return to his hometown in New Zealand this year.
Nevertheless, the Raiders stood tall in Mackay Rugby Union in 2023.
Mackay Magpies (Cricket)
Magpies completed the coveted first grade double in Mackay Cricket in the 2022/23 season, taking out both the 40-over First Grade Cup and the 1st Div T20 Shootout.
In the 40-over competition, Magpies’ Adam Zurvas would finish leading run-scorer plundering 516 runs at an average of 57, while tweaker Isaac Borg also claimed 23 scalps at an average of 12.
There were no other premierships for Magpies in 2022/23, with the closest contender being Norths who managed a second grade double, however the lower grade and junior premierships were spread among an abundance of clubs in Mackay Cricket.
Mackay Lions (Football)
Whitsunday United had a memorable year at senior level, taking home both men’s and women’s FQPL championships for the first time, but it was Mackay Lions who performed the strongest across every all divisions and ages.
Remarkably, of the 12 teams the Lions fielded in 2023, 11 made the finals, with five taking home premierships for topping the table.
Eight Lions teams would go on to make grand finals, with the under-17 men’s side, under-15 division 1 side, and FQPL U13 side all crowned champions.
Pino Giannangelo was crowned the FQPL Whitsunday Coast Women’s Coach of the Year, having led the senior women to an astounding seventh consecutive premiership, however they would unfortunately come up short on grand final day.
Mackay Athletics Club (Athletics)
It was a strong year for Mackay Athletics Club, taking out the club championship at the North Queensland Athletics Carnival for the first time in its history.
The club has also produced a number of athletes that excelled in their disciplines throughout 2023.
Middle-distance specialist Toby Rule had a year to remember, running a PB to claim bronze in the U17 3000m at the Australian All Schools Championships in December. Rule also won the mile and 3000m at the NQ Championships, among many other achievements.
Mackay Athletics Club’s Mikayla Webb picked up a silver in the under-17 100m at the Australian All Schools, while Kayce Hoani-Vincent a bronze in the under-17 pole vault.
Talented thrower James Galea also had a strong NQ Championships, taking home for gold and two silver medals.
Norths Hockey Club (Hockey)
Norths had a memorable year on the hockey field, taking out both the men’s and women’s A1 premierships and minor premierships.
The A2 women were also minor premiers but lost the grand final, while the A3 men reached the decider and were unsuccessful.
The club also took out coveted Ebert Family Club Championship Trophy for the highest combined points total.
Across the four senior grade Norths also managed to produce a best and fairest winner; Jane Emblem took home the A1 women’s, Ebony Temple the A2 women’s, Tiffany Curr the A3 women’s, Izaik Paulo the A4 men’s.
Norths also had a number of promising juniors fill its A1 ranks, A1 premiership players Kaleb Mayfield and Sam Riggs travelling to Malaysia after their school exams to represent an Australian All stars side.
Norths A1 women’s goalkeeper Jordan Bliss also earnt selection in the Australian U21 side that travelled to Chile in late November to compete in the FIH Junior World Cup.
Souths Hockey Club can consider themselves tremendously unlucky to have missed out, having taken out A2, A3, and A4 men’s premierships, and also reached the grand final in the A3 women’s.
Gold Coast
Hockey: Hockey Burleigh
Burleigh Hockey Club is home of current Hockeyroo Rosie Malone and Jillaroo Camryn Mathison among a large number of other Qld talented athletes. This year, the club made history by taking out gold in all four women’s divisions. Already running out premiers in the 2023 Open Girls, U14 Boys, U12 Hybrid (mixed) and Men’s. Division 3 competitions, Hockey Burleigh (aka The Wave) had their sights firmly set on the quadrella in the women’s league. Hockey Burleigh also stamped their dominance in the regional intercity competition between all clubs in the Gold Coast and Ipswich associations, winning in both the men’s and women’s finals.
Netball: Gold Coast Titans (elite)
Round three featured an overdue overthrow of the Brisbane North Cougars HSS reign. The side, which has long been known as a feeder club to the Queensland Firebirds, had not lost a game in over two years before taking the court against the Gold Coast Titans. It was a sea-sawing match which ultimately ended with the Titans winning 63-58. The club went on to finish third in the comp after an upset loss in the preliminary final. The Titans’ U16 Nissan State Titles team claimed bronze in September.
Netball: Hinterland Districts (junior)
Hinterland Districts Netball Association carved up at the 2023 Junior State Age in May, taking home the U12, U13 Challenge and U14 Challenge and U14 Championships divisions. The association didn’t stop there, going on to be named overall Champion Association and receiving the Performance Award to recognise the best performing Association in relation to the number of registered players. The feat is made even more impressive by the fact over 200 teams competed.
Aussie Rules: Palm Beach Currumbin (men)
It is hard to go past Palm Beach Currumbin as the best AFL side on the Gold Coast. Despite their seniors side not making finals in the QAFL in 2023, a rare miss for the club of its stature, the club’s colts finished top of the ladder only to go down in the grand final. They have been the most successful Gold Coast club, including three of the four players drafted to the Gold Coast Suns in the 2024 AFL draft.
Aussie Rules: Bond University (womern)
The most successful women’s team in the QAFLW this season, both league and reserves competitions. Bond University Bull sharks claimed premierships across both grades. Their stocks will only get stronger as they look to continue to grow and develop and repeat the success of 2023 in 2024.
Rugby Union: Nerang Bulls
The Nerang Bulls first grade side fell short of making the grand final for a second year in a row, going down to the eventual champions in their preliminary final. However the club still had plenty to celebrate in 2023. They were victorious in the second and third grades, as well as the Under 18s.
Basketball: Gold Coast Rollers
The Gold Coast Rollers Women finished the season top-four but were defeated by the Logan Thunder 66-62 in their quarter final. The Rollers men had more success in 2023 while chasing a back-to-back title. Despite going into the grand final series on a lengthy winning streak, Gold Coast narrowly lost the series 2-1 to Ipswich Force. A loss was not the end goal, but in a competition stretching from Tweed, Queensland to Darwin, NT, it certainly deserves an ovation. Gold Coast are no doubt eager to bet back on court for 2024 and will return with two strong teams once again.
Rugby League: Currumbin Eagles
Arguably the the best Gold Coast Rugby League club in 2023. Despite not winning the A grade competition, Currumbin finished third in A-grade, under 16’s Div 2, fifth in Under 18’s Div 2 and runner-ups in under 20’s but the highlight for the club was becoming premiers in A-grade reserves, under-16’s Div 1 and under 18’s Div 1.
Cricket: Helensvale
The 2022/23 premiers have started the premiership defence off in almost the best way possible. They won’t play in the one day cup final but all of their senior grades sit among the top four teams of the respective competition’s. They have shown glimpses of the premiership team they were in 22/23 and will look to continue the form heading into the back end of the season.
Football: Gold Coast Knights
Everything went right for the Gold Coast Knights F.C in season 2023 both on and off the field. They won the NPL competition, Scott McDonald won the Coach of the Year, Austin Ludwik named Player of the Year and made history becoming the first team to win the Treble in Queensland.
Toowoomba
Aussie Rules: Coolaroo
The club’s senior men’s team was as close to perfect as you can be, dropping just the one game on their way to a 13-1 regular season and another Allied Cup premiership.
In the past two seasons, the Toowoomba side has failed to take maximum points in just three games after recording two losses and a draw in 2022 and 2023 – further proof of just how good their program is.
The future of the club is also in safe hands.
This year the club featured in three of the four AFLQ Darling Downs competitive grand finals – winning all three.
Coolaroo’s Under-12 Mixed got the ball rolling on grand final day, holding off a fast-finishing University Cougars to secure a 5.3-33 to 2.3-15 win after leading 20-2 at halftime.
The club’s U14 Mixed side followed suit with a 4.3-27 to 3.5-23 win over South Toowoomba Bombers.
Rugby League: Valleys Roosters
Valleys Roosters ruled the rugby league roost in 2023.
Across the junior and senior competitive divisions Roosters teams played in more than half of the grand finals.
The Pillar St trophy cabinet was packed with silverware with the club winning four minor premierships and four premierships as well as the Reserve Grade and Under-19 President’s Cups.
The Roosters also featured in the Madsen Rassmussen final but were soundly beaten, 30-4, by an in-form Gatton Hawks.
Valleys have always been considered as one of TRL’s benchmark clubs, and their performances this year only proved that further.
Touch Football: Highfields
You’d be hard pressed to find to find a more competitive junior code in Toowoomba.
Just about every club has a Toowoomba Twisters and or a Queensland representative player among their ranks, and the club is a huge factor in the success of the sport as a whole.
Picking the top Term 4 club from the under-10 to U16 divisions was no easy task, but one did enough to stand clear of the final.
The “long trip” across town proved fruitful for Highfields with the club winning three of the eight finals they appeared in and finishing top of the table in four divisions.
Saints and Rebels also deserve mention after very impressive seasons.
Football: Rockville Rovers
Two clubs stood head and shoulders above the rest in 2023.
Rockville Rovers and Willowburn Magpies both made compelling cases for our Club of the Year award.
Magpies’ “investment” in its juniors over the past few years is paying off with the club showing substantial growth.
The club featured in six out of a possible 11 grand finals with two of those teams finishing as premiers, Rockville however picked up our top club title.
While grand final winners’ medals are special, a lot of football clubs value the minor premiership slightly more as it represents a team’s resilience and consistency over the season.
Rockville finished top of the regular season title in six divisions this year and won one of the three grand finals they played in.
The growth and competitiveness of both these clubs points to a very bright future for football on the Downs.
Cricket: Metropolitan-Easts
Facing six overs from the late great Shane Warne would only be marginally harder than naming a best Toowoomba Cricket club after the 2022/23 season.
We could have picked any one of four clubs, but we have settled on Metropolitan-Easts.
The Trojans were consistent performers in every format of the game in junior and senior competitions.
The club also had an excellent strike rate in grand finals winning four from six they padded up in.
Southern Districts Magpies, Highfields Railways Bulldogs and Western Districts Warriors deserve special mention for outstanding seasons as well.
Netball: Saints Starbursts and Dominoes Dependables
This was one of the easier decisions to make, but we decided not to focus on a club – instead we narrowed it down to two teams.
The future of Toowoomba Netball Association is very bright if the efforts of Under-13A squads Saints Starbursts and Dominoes Dependables are anything to go by.
The two sides squared off in the grand final on a “special” date agreed to by players, officials and parents.
Two key Starbursts players and a member of their coaching staff were set to miss the grand final due with representative duties in Perth the obvious priority.
The two clubs however agreed to play their final at an earlier date with Starbursts securing a win.
Starbursts, who were willing to play an “understrength” side on grand final day, finished the season with an unbeaten record.
Toowoomba teams and athletes show great sportsmanship all the time but this example is one of the more heartwarming moments we have seen in recent years.
Basketball: Toowoomba Mountaineers (elite)
It’s impossible to over look the Mountaineers as Toowoomba’s best elite club after another stunning season of QSL competition.
Building on great 2022 seasons, both the club’s senior teams took their games to another level.
The men’s side was impressive all season and for the first time in more than a decade the women clinched a playoff spot.
Unfortunately both sides lost their respective semi-finals, but the Mountaineers have been building the past few years and all signs point to a great 2024.
Sunshine Coast
No matter the sport the grand final champions are the most important part of any season and 2023 was no different.
The key winners included the USC Barbarians who claimed their third straight Sunshine Coast rugby union A-grade title plus a cracking finish between Nambour and Caloundra in the women’s division.
For rugby league it was underdogs Kawana who claimed top spot in the women’s competition while Beerwah edged out the Dolphins in a fiery a-grade contest to claim the club’s first ever SCGRL premiership.
The round ball game was also no different as Noosa overcame a young Kawana outfit in the FQPL3 men’s division while Maroochydore proved too strong against Noosa in the senior women’s match.
A few other Sunshine Coast clubs shone in their respective Aussie rules grand finals with the Noosa Tigers claiming top spot after securing four straight premierships in their QFAW Division 2.
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