Leading Gold Coast rugby league figures divided over future of Queensland Cup and NRL reserve grade

After group of Gold Coast figures revealed plans to bring a new elite rugby league team to the region, leading coaches have been divided on the future of the state’s top competition. See what it could mean for local sports fans.

A leading Gold Coast rugby league coach says the creation of a Queensland Cup team in the city’s north will remain a pipe dream until the NRL decides on the future of its second-tier competitions.

The Bulletin revealed last week secret plans for a northern Gold Coast state team that could harness the burgeoning list of young league players in the rapidly growing region.

But Ormeau Shearers coach Stuart Wilkins says the growing gap between the NRL’s top and bottom teams was evidence something needed to change in the game and a proposed reserve-grade comeback could help.

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The NRL have reportedly been in discussions to bring back a competition which would feature second-tier teams from each of the first-grade clubs.

Further suggestions have included fielding teams affiliated to the Broncos, Titans, Cowboys and Dolphins in the Queensland Cup, with both ideas likely to open the door for more players to join the professional ranks.

Helensvale and Ormeau are two clubs the proposed North Gold Coast Queensland Cup team would look to service. Picture by Richard Gosling

But the Queensland Rugby League has fought back against such suggestions, concerned it would diminish and ultimately tarnish the statewide competition and its current sides.

While there are pros and cons to both arguments, Wilkins sees merit to the NRL’s proposal.

In Round 24 alone six of eight winning NRL teams scored more than 40 points, headlined by the Wests Tigers’ 72-6 hammering by the Sydney Roosters.

While Wilkins said he had not seen a huge gap between the strength of the grassroots and Queensland Cup sides in the region, ultimately a greater emphasis on junior pathways needed to be more to the forefront of thinking than another Glitter Strip outfit.

He said until a final decision was made on the future of both the state league and the NRL reserve grade concept the idea of a new franchise would likely remain a pipe dream.

“I don’t think there’s a chance in the world of a Queensland Cup side getting to Pimpama or anywhere around the area until that’s resolved,” Wilkins said.

“I think there’s a real good push for reasons to have back up NRL teams that play on the same teams and the facilities in the same name.

“I think that’s the better fit, the argument is interesting and there would still be a third competition but it would just merge to a different level and it’ll still be part of the pathway.

“There’s a monopoly of clubs that don’t have access to quality players. There needs to be in my view better management of the programs currently without putting in another side or without moving into the NRL or reserve grade.

“When asking whether a new Queensland Cup side would be appreciated in Ormeau and valued in our area the answer is probably yes, but it’s far more complicated than that.

“Don’t get me wrong we’d love to have one in our backyard, but there’s more to it than that.”

Not everyone however is on the same page.

Helensvale Hornets leaders Wayne Court and Ian Frame were the masterminds behind the north Gold Coast Queensland Cup bid, and have confirmed they would revisit the idea once the powerbrokers in the game settled on their future plans.

Meanwhile Burleigh Bears A-grade coach Matt Foster has vehemently rejected the NRL’s concept.

Burleigh Bears A-Grade coach Matt Foster. Picture: Jerad Williams

The veteran mentor of more than 100 Rugby League Gold Coast has also worked in the club’s Queensland Cup coaching staff and said the plight of the state’s top league would deprive late-blooming athletes the chance to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Canberra Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty and South Sydney Rabbitohs ace Cody Walker are perhaps the leading examples of current stars who missed out on higher honours early in their careers but garnered opportunities through the strength of their state level performances.

This year Bears fullback Taine Tuaupiki impressed to the point where he will join the New Zealand Warriors for the 2023 season.

Fosters said his concern was that the loss of the Queensland Cup would ultimately narrow the scope of NRL clubs when it came to assembling their squads.

He said the flow on from that would hinder the grassroots of the game and provide fewer avenues for players to remain engaged.

“It could make things a little bit harder, it certainly puts the end product a little bit further away. It definitely could effect I guess that exposure because the NRL would then close it’s a doors a little bit,” Foster said.

“We’re talking what ifs, but if you’ve got a first-grade and reserve grade then the NRL will circle itself in that with less exposure for teams around there. That would be not good for the grassroots for the kids who want to aspire to do what Taine has done.

Taine Tuaupiki in action for the Burleigh Bears. Picture: Vanessa Hafner/QRL

“I think it would end up being a third tier competition with Queensland Cup, I’m not certain how the state wide competition would go with funding and the effect it would then have on the Queensland Cup be broken into regions.

“I’m absolutely against it, for Burleigh Bears as a club it would have a negative connotation.”

Revealed: Secret plans to bring new league team to Coast

— September 13

With the fate of the Sunshine State’s leading rugby league outlet up in the air, a group of Gold Coast pundits have revealed plans have been in the works to bring a new elite outfit to the region.

With the Queensland Rugby League pushing back over the NRL’s proposed return of a reserve first-grade competition, Helensvale Hornets president Wayne Court has unveiled the past pursuits to create a Queensland Cup side based in the Glitter Strip’s north.

And those close to the cause have confirmed they will convene again in the coming months to assess the sport’s landscape and brace for an upcoming window to launch again.

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The concept was envisioned to provide an avenue for players from Rugby League Gold Coast’s northern clubs and regions to push towards the upper echelon of the game without having to leave their home towns.

Smaller communities such as Pimpama, Beaudesert and Beenleigh would also benefit from the idea, while such a move would also remove the travel demand players have in order to compete for spots within the top sides.

According to Court, who was part of the bid teams — the last of which began in 2019 — the proposal followed the model Toowoomba had incorporated which has launched them into the 2023 Queensland Cup.

The Garden City started by bringing in women’s, colts, under-18s and under-16s sides before working towards the senior men.

Helensvale Hornet Cameron Brown with club president Wayne Court (left). Photo: Scott Powick News Corp

While Court said their plans came to a head largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, locking in a long-term base for the proposed club, as well as the reintroduction of the Clydesdales, he said should the rugby league landscape present a window of opportunity the group of visionaries would be quick to launch the push once again.

“100 percent, it will definitely be worth chatting about again. We’ve had Burleigh and Tweed as the clubs for years and I don’t think there’s been new ones down this way for 10 years or more,” Court said.

“In that time the amount of growth on the Gold Coast is enormous, even if you look at the last five years the growth is huge compared to what it was.

“Around Brisbane you’ve got seven teams there, we’ve got two here, but the Gold Coast population is now fast tracking up to being sixth biggest in Australia and growing fast.

“The under-16s and under-18s compared to back in the day 10 years ago, we’ve doubled that now. It was to give guys more opportunity to play harder football and develop from there; not so much take away from Tweed or Burleigh but just to complement them.

“There’s still a massive gap.”

In 2022 alone, junior participation has spiked dramatically on the Gold Coast.

Data released by the QRL revealed that community involvement has increased by 11.9 per cent this year, with the creation of a girls under-12s competition coinciding with a 42.76 per cent female growth.

Junior male numbers also rose by more than six per cent to 5,337 competitors.

Junior rugby league participation has spiked on the Gold Coast in 2022. picture Mike Batterham

New RLGC chairman Matt Bradford also confirmed earlier this year that plans were in place to bring in teams from Beaudesert, Pimpama and Yarrabilba into the fold, while outgoing head Peter Daley said the under-20s competition was set to go from five teams to as high as 10.

Court said the 2019 bid, spearheaded by Ian Frame, was the closest they came to bringing the concept to light, with Logan’s Heritage Park identified as a potential home ground.

When that facility became unavailable, the thinking changed to Pimpama, Flagstone and Beenleigh.

Frame confirmed that at the time he was appointed CEO of the hopeful franchise, and said even now investors were very much keen on the idea.

He said the pandemic was the key factor in easing off in their pursuit, but he and the rest of the people involved in the push would look to convene prior to Christmas and discuss the viability of the cause.

“It only died down with Covid, but the investors are very interested. They’re sitting back and waiting for the next move and the chess pieces are still being moved around by the NRL and QRL,” Frame said.

“Until we understand the landscape on offer I’m still sitting in the background very much in touch on a monthly basis with them.

“They’ve now sat back and watched and only recently we discussed it again and are basically planning on getting together before Christmas to see where the cards lie now and make a decision from there.

“With those different concepts that have been mooted by the NRL and QRL it’s making sure that if we do start this it’s a multi-million dollar project that can be supported.

“I still think there’s a massive need in the area for an extra franchise.”

Players from north Gold Coast clubs such as Helensvale and Ormeau could benefit from a Queensland Cup outfit in the region. Picture by Richard Gosling

However even with the Toowoomba outfit coming into the Queensland Cup next year, the competition’s longevity has recently been called into question.

The NRL initially were reportedly eager to bring back the National Reserve Grade format, with another option being the Broncos, Titans, Dolphins and Cowboys fielding teams in the statewide season.

But there is fear such a move would diminish the regional outfits by hindering the affiliation NRL clubs have with those systems, while removing quality talent from those sides.

A counter, however, becomes the chance to bring more prospective stars into an NRL system and receive exposure to elite performance coaching and facilities to strengthen the professional product even more in the future.

As that conversation continues, Court said he believed a move to continue strengthening the Queensland Cup would in turn have flow on effects to the local competition and provide stronger breeding grounds for the Gold Coast Titans.

Frame added that clubs such as Helensvale and Ormeau typically struggled to attract marquee players, and a pathway towards the QCup and NRL could help fix that.

And given how the likes of former Burleigh and Titans halfback Jamal Fogarty rose through the feeder club pathways, Court said another team could prove crucial for youngsters who missed out on NRL opportunities by giving them the chance to battle more seasoned elite players.

“The way I look at it is from a QCup point of view, a lot of footballers don’t necessarily balloon young. You see guys balloon as they get older or don’t hit their straps until they’re older, so it gives those guys an opportunity to be seen instead of being lost in the cracks,” Court said.

Preston Campbell and his son Jayden playing for Helensvale

“The perfect example was Jayden (Campbell); looking at him, he didn’t make all the rep sides coming through, then the first year he’s playing with us in the 20s and he played for Burleigh and played Cup (for Tweed) and first grade.

“There’s plenty of guys floating around who could be up to it and playing if given the opportunity. I’m not saying there’s heaps here or there, but they’re floating around playing A-grade who could definitely handle playing QCup.

“I know in Brisbane if you go to a certain club, say Easts Tigers, they’ve got two feeder cubs — Bulimba Bulldogs and Carina Tigers — that are there. Their players go back to there and up to there, so you could see that if you had more sides.”