VOTE: North Queensland’s best sporting town outside Townsville
North Queensland wouldn’t be the powerhouse sporting region it is without deep roots of success in its rural towns. Vote now to have your say on which town can claim the title of North Queensland’s best sporting town outside Townsville.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
North Queensland has long punched above its weight on the sporting stage, but it wouldn’t be the powerhouse region it is today without deep roots of success in the small townships that make up the community.
Home Hill tennis star Adam Walton’s meteoric rise to the top 100 players in the world is the latest example of international success and it’s not the first time North Queensland has grown a bona fide champion.
Look no further than 11km further up the Bruce Highway in Ayr where former world No.1 golfer Karrie Webb teed off throughout her junior days before flying the flag for North Queensland all around the globe.
Another world No.1 golfer, Greg Norman, was born in Mount Isa before doing his schooling at Townsville Grammar School during the 1960s.
You also can’t forget that one of the most recognisable Australian cricketers of the last 50 years, Andrew Symonds, spent a large part of his youth in Charters Towers where his father taught at All Souls St Gabriel’s School after they moved to Australia when Symonds was a toddler.
Sprinkle in a litany of elite rugby league players from Ingham, a Super Netballer and AFLW skipper from Magnetic Island and a plethora of Palm Island talent and it’s no wonder North Queensland is one of the greatest sporting regions in the country.
But now it’s time for the public to decide which town can claim the title of North Queensland’s best sporting town outside Townsville.
Vote below and have your say, towns are listed in alphabetical order.
AYR
Former world No.1 female golfer Karrie Webb was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) in 2022 after an illustrious career at the top, but it’s the range of sports that Ayr athletes have excelled at that impresses the most.
Golfers, footballers and basketballers headline the town’s notable athletes but nothing would make Queens Hotel publicans Mickey and Bill McKellar prouder than seeing their son Dan coaching the Wallabies in years to come as has been touted.
Notable athletes:
Karrie Webb (golf)
Dan McKellar (rugby union)
Zac Anderson (football)
Shane Muspratt (rugby league)
Patricia Cockrem (basketball)
Kel O’Shea (rugby league)
Mark Dalle Cort (rugby league)
CHARTERS TOWERS
The historic mining community of Charters Towers is famous for being Queensland’s largest city outside of Brisbane during the gold rush of the late 1800s, but it has also been an enduring participant in the region’s sporting community.
The Goldfield Ashes are one of the calendar highlights for any North Queensland cricketer and none are more famous than Andrew Symonds, who played 26 tests and 198 ODIs for Australia.
Notable athletes:
Andrew Symonds (cricket)
Adam Cook (rugby league)
CLONCURRY
Robert Crowther is perhaps the greatest athlete to come out of ‘the Curry’ in recent memory.
The Australian long jump champion can leap more than eight metres and has represented his nation on a number of occasions including when he won the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing.
Notable athletes:
Robert Crowther (athletics)
Kasey Wehrman (football)
HOME HILL
Home Hill has owned the most recent international headlines with the success of homegrown tennis star Adam Walton.
Walton made his grand slam debut at this year’s Australian Open and has gone in leaps and bounds in 2024, rising into the top 100 and adding to his grand slam experience at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
Paralympic bronze-medal winning swimmer Roy Kubig was a pioneer of impaired sport, competing against able bodied swimmers at Home Hill Swimming Club during the 1960s and 70s.
Notable athletes:
Adam Walton (tennis)
Roy Kubig (swimming)
INGHAM
Ingham has a long history of rugby league success and it’s fitting that the North Queensland Cowboys’ inaugural team captain Laurie Spina hails from the regions.
Spina made a name for himself at the North Sydney Bears in the 1980s, spending time at the Roosters and Sharks before coming home to take care of the family farm and give back to his junior club the Herbert River Crushers.
But Spina stepped out of his mini-retirement in 1995 when he was 31 years old to guide the Cowboys through their first year in the ARL.
Notable athletes:
Laurie Spina (rugby league)
Sam Backo (rugby league)
Greg Dowling (rugby league)
Nick Euclid (rugby league)
Dean Schifilliti (rugby league)
Beryl Friday (netball)
Ashleigh Southern (water polo)
GIRU
One of the smallest townships on our list but one that has shown it can more than handle itself on the big stage.
Brisbane Roar A-League midfielder Louis Zabala is still in the early stages of his career while veteran athlete Ainsley Hooker has found success for Australia recently at the Invictus and Warrior Games.
Notable athletes:
Louis Zabala (football)
Ainsley Hooker (athletics)
MAGNETIC ISLAND
Maggie Island is the closest to Townsville geographically but the community has its own unique flavour.
The laid-back lifestyle may not seem conductive to raising elite athletes but look no further than the Koenen clan to know that’s not true.
Breanna Koenen is the Brisbane Lions’ premiership-winning captain while her sister Cara plays Super Netball for the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Dirk Koenen is a capable Aussie rules footballer while Alyssa has represented Australia in surf lifesaving.
Notable athletes:
Breanna Koenen (Aussie rules)
Cara Koenen (netball)
Alyssa Koenen (surf lifesaving)
Dirk Koenen (Aussie rules)
MOUNT ISA
Mount Isa is renowned for its mining history but it can also claim to be the hometown of some of Australia’s most famous sportspeople.
Tennis star Pat Rafter and world No.1 golfer Greg Nornam both hail from the Isa, while Brisbane Lions forward Charlie Cameron was born out west before attending school on Mornington Island and in Brisbane.
Scotland’s former world No.1 squash player John White was also born in Mount Isa, giving the small town another world champion.
A reader noted that three-time AFL premiership player Simon Black was also born in Mount Isa. The former Brisbane Lions captain was inducted into the Australia Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Notable athletes:
Greg Norman (golf)
Pat Rafter (tennis)
John White (squash)
Charlie Cameron (Aussie rules)
Simon Black (Aussie rules)
Nathan Fien (rugby league)
Travis Hall (rugby)
Peter Crawford (basketball)
Gerard Denton (cricket)
Meagan Dixon (cricket)
Ian Dyk (motorsports)
Demi Hayes (rugby 7s)
Ricardo Moffatti (Paralympic swimmer)
Bill Sweetenham (swimming)
Stephen Weigh (basketball)
PALM ISLAND
Palm Island athletes have a long history of excelling in sport, particularly rugby league and boxing.
The small island community has produced elite talent that excites and entertains on fields around the country, including Obe Geia who became the first person from Palm Island to play for the North Queensland Cowboys when he debuted in 2008.
The famous Daisy brothers Vern and Frank were also born on Palm Island before decorated football careers in Mount Isa in the 1970s and 80s.
Notable athletes:
Vern and Frank Daisy (rugby league)
Obe Geia (rugby league)
Fred Clay (boxing)
Patrick Clarke (boxing)
Originally published as VOTE: North Queensland’s best sporting town outside Townsville
Rugby League Gold Coast to expand A Grade by two clubs in two years
After years in the wilderness, two proud rugby league clubs are preparing for A Grade football as the Gold Coast's premier competition doubles down on expansion.
Shock decision handed down for act that could have ‘broken jaw’
An Aussie rules coach says the governing body has left itself open to players driving with the knees into tackles after making a shock verdict on an act he believes could have caused a broken jaw. See the incident here.