Southwest Queensland Emus showcase Indigenous talent on Legends of League day

Thousands of games of NRL, State of Origin and international experience was on show right here in Toowoomba as the Legends of League rolled into the Jack Martin Centre. FULL GALLERY

The Southwest Queensland Emus women defeated the Sunshine Coast at Jack Martin Centre. Photo: Southwest Queensland Emus

RUGBY LEAGUE: While the greats of the past took centre stage at the Jack Martin Centre, the next generation of Indigenous stars put their names in lights.

The Southwest Queensland Emus showcased their skills across five grades from U14s through to open men and women against the Sunshine Coast Bunyas as a prelude to the Legends of League fixture.

Emus president Gary Halliday said

“It was a great weekend with some great results to win four of the five games,” he said.

“The U14s, U18s, women and men all had wins. There was a great crowd and roll up from the families of the Emus and Bunyas.

“It was great to show what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can do.”

The men had a special assistant for the day, with new Warriors acquisition Ash Taylor helping on water running duties.

“Ash has always helped out from day one and he’s a good community ambassador,” Halliday said.

“He always puts his hand up to come and help us out. He was shaking hands and promoting vaccinations. He’s a humble young fella.”

Halliday was full of praise for the efforts of all Emus teams, including some standout performances across the board.

“It was a convincing win by our men. Austin Jennings played in the centres and was a standout, as well as Cory McGrady and Jarrod Lee,” he said.

“Kiara Taylor, Rosie Gibbs and Tegan Gibbs were some of the standout players and really led the way for the younger girls.

“Shontayne Prince from St George was brilliant in defence and attack (in the U16s). Hayden Baker is a young Chinchilla boy who played lock but covered just about every position.

“Our captain Jovyn Johnston led from the front in the U18s. He’s a great role model and was always talking to the young fellas. In a year or two he could potentially be starting in the men’s side.”

While a decision is yet to be made, Halliday and the Emus remain hopeful the annual All Stars fixture will return in 2022.

“Hopefully the TRL will make a decision in the next week or two on the Indigenous All Stars game,” he said.

“That will be our next priority and everything would be done to ensure it’s a Covid safe event to continue.

“It would be great to turn it into a community event again that will be beneficial to community organisations. It’s always been the vision to have that community event with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services involved.”

It came as the Legends of League rolled into town in front of a packed house at the Jack Martin Centre, as NRL greats donned the green and gold to take on some of the Garden City’s local legends.

The scoreboard might’ve given the Australian side a 28-26 victory, but it was a genuine case of rugby league being the winner.

For Toowoomba player Eugene Seddon, the chance to play alongside and against some of the greats is something not lost on him.

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“For me personally, looking up to the likes of Scott Schulze, Dave Anderson and Don Saunders, to run out alongside them was something special,” Seddon said.

“Steve Price is a Toowoomba legend and for him to be our coach, you still get a little starstruck.

“Then you look up and see Scott Prince kicking for goal and marking up against Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges. You just have to pinch yourself and I was fortunate to be out there.

“It was a privilege putting on the retro Clydesdales jersey. It brought back a lot of memories for a lot of people.

“It will be a night to look back on and realise how special it was.”