Toowoomba Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald outlines key elements of city’s bid for NRL match

He’s the son of rugby league royalty and one of the most passionate men in Toowoomba. Now Geoff McDonald has explained how the “Give Us A Game” campaign becomes successful.

Rugby league legend John McDonald aka Cracker McDonald with son Toowoomba Regional Council Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald back the NRL bid for Toowoomba. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Rugby league royalty runs through Geoff McDonald’s veins and his passion for the “greatest game of all” is unquestionable.

So naturally Toowoomba’s Deputy Mayor is prepared to do everything in his power to make sure the city earns hosting rights for an NRL match in the coming weeks.

The son of legendary Manly-Warringah centre, foundation State of Origin coach and rugby league administrator John “Cracker” McDonald has thrown his support behind the city’s “Give Us A Game” campaign.

Mr McDonald said there was no reason the NRL couldn’t relocate a match here, considering all teams would be based in Queensland from this weekend.

“It’s a heartland of rugby league, so if an opportunity arises where they need to relieve the pressure, we should be a venue,” he said.

“We’ve got a great stadium that’s sitting there.”

Mr McDonald played a key role in negotiating with key stakeholders to bring the Titans-Dragons match to Clive Berghofer Stadium three years ago.

While the circumstances were different, since the Titans needed to move a home game due to the Commonwealth Games, he said Toowoomba clearly impressed the club and the state government.

“How it came about is the Commonwealth Games were coming up and the Titans had started a working relationship with the Clydesdales,” he said.

“When this game needed to be shifted, the Titans chose Toowoomba as one of the locations.”

The match was reportedly worth $1m to the city, through tourism dollars and exposure thanks to coverage on both Fox Sports and Channel 9.

Mr McDonald said the biggest challenge facing Toowoomba was the cost of hosting a match, which in 2018 was set at $300,000.

“For us to pay for a round, it would’ve been $300,000 (because) it’s got to cover the cost that would’ve been raised had they played a home game,” he said.

“Wherever they took the game, that was the amount that needed to be offered.”

The state government came to the table to help cover the costs at that match, while the council sponsored the game with $40,000 of in-kind support.

Mr McDonald said the fastest and most effective way to achieve another Toowoomba match would be if the NRL mandated it would bring some games to regional areas.

The alternative was forcing cities to bid for it, something he said would all but rule Toowoomba out.

“I think through the passage of time, the NRL has sought bids for towns to host Origin matches and games,” he said.

“A normal NRL fixture, it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars for another city to host.

“If it’s an NRL decision, one could assume there wouldn’t be an added expense for the town or the stadium to foot the bill.

“The beauty is we’ve done it and we’ve done it successfully.”

Mr McDonald also noted several matches this year had attendances that were comparable to the 2018 game, saying the size of the stadium was hardly a hindrance.