We shine light on Darling Downs and South West’s sports stars
REVEALED: The past week has been a massive one for sport in the region. Here’s a look at the big stories you need to see from the last week.
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The Chronicle sport team is shining a light on the unsung heroes of Darling Downs and South West Queensland sport.
From athletes and teams to officials, clubs and major sports organisations we’ll be highlighting the stories that matter each week.
WNBA headed to Garden City
Fresh off hosting an NBA basketball clinic with Utah Jazz assistant coach Evan Bradds, young Toowoomba basketballers will have another opportunity to learn from the game’s best with WNBA assistant coach Ashlee McGee headed to the Garden City to run a girls’ basketball clinic on January 20.
McGee brings elite basketball coaching experience, having been a part of college, NBA and WNBA programs.
Toowoomba Mountaineers open women’s and under-18 girls’ coach Matt Cox was excited for the opportunity and hopes it can further enhance the momentum the sport has in the Garden City.
“It is really exciting we get to build on the NBA clinic with Evan Bradds to offer something for girls exclusively,” he said.
“Especially for girls on the edge of competition phase, they are a little anxious to get into something like that for males and females.
“To offer girls exclusive is something we are really proud of.
“I think it’s definitely going to open up pathways, it will inspire a lot of local kids, that these people are semi-accessible in the modern world that’s for sure.”
Cox has been a key figure in the women’s and girls’ side of the Mountaineers program for several years and has seen first hand the growth of female basketball in the Darling Downs.
“I think we are really growing in numbers that’s for sure, the standard has been quite good,” he said.
“We have (junior Mountaineers) teams making division 2 (South Queensland) finals, seniors back in (QSL1) finals, a couple of div 1 girls teams and a nice level of success.
“We are trying to offer programs and spark interest to more girls and have a greater depth of participation and drive talent up.
“I think we’ve seen recently Millie Natalier, Freya Shipton … we are starting to get some high profile players coming out of this region and it opens up doors for more females athletes to playing WNBA, college and QSL pathways for Mountaineers.”
Details on how to register your child for the clinic can be found on the Toowoomba Basketball website.
Darling Downs stars set to line up for Qld Country
The Darling Downs is set to be well represented once again in this year’s Australian Country Cricket Championships.
Across the men’s and women’s teams there are five Darling Downs and South West Queensland stars set to don the maroon as they look to defend their titles.
Emma Jackson and Jaimie-Lee Strang will return to the women’s side this year after starring for Queensland Country last season, while Aidan Watterson is back again for the men’s team.
The trio will be joined by Meg Mettam and Olivia Winter, who are set to fly the flag for the region when the competition kicks off in the Barossa Valley in January.
Superb year for rising go-kart star
Young Toowoomba go-kart sensation Thomas Williams has capped off a dominant year on the track, taking home several victories across various competitions.
Williams made a successful New South Wales championship defence and won the overall Toowoomba Club Championship.
He also finished third in the Ipswich Club Championship for the TAG restricted light class.
Looking ahead to 2025, Williams hopes to defend his Toowoomba Club Championship in both the Tag restricted light and KA3 Snr categories, while aiming for a three-peat in the TAG restricted light class New South Wales Championship in Dubbo and is looking to compete in the Australian Karting Championship round in Ipswich.
Big Train on UFC 312 card
Toowoomba’s Tom “Big Train” Nolan is set to return to The Octagon next year after it was announced he will face off with Viacheslav Borshchevin Sydney on February 9 for UFC 312.
The 24 year-old boasts an 8-1 professional record with a 2-1 record on major UFC fight nights.
Week 2
When you can catch Clydesdales in action
The QRL confirmed its Hostplus Cup and BMD Premiership fixtures for 2025 this week with the season officially kicking off on March 8.
The Hostplus Cup Western Clydesdales will make the trip to Marsden State High School to take on Souths Logan Magpies in round 1 with the clash scheduled to kick-off at 6pm.
The Clydesdales will have their first official home game of the season in round 2 when they host Norths Devils at Toowoomba Sports Ground on March 15.
Other notable clashes include their round 5 contest at Kayo Stadium, where they face the Redcliffe Dolphins - the only side the Clydesdales defeated in 2024.
They will face their rivals down the range the Ipswich Jets away in round 11 before hosting them in round 21.
The Clydesdales will once again make the trip to Port Moresby to take on the PNG Hunters when they lock horns at the Santos National Football Stadium in round 20.
In the expanded 12-team BMD Premiership, the Clydesdales will take on the Burleigh Bears in round 1 on June 14 at UAA Park.
Like their male counterparts, their first home game will be in round 2, with the Clydesdales hosting the Northern Pride - one of the two new teams joining the competition in 2025.
The Clydesdales will face the Ipswich Jets for the first time in round 8 and will return to BB Print Stadium in round 10 to take on the Mackay Cutters, in a rematch of their semi-final last year before facing Norths Devils in the final round of the season.
Darling Downs duo shine for Qld
Both players were selected to the Cricket Australia carnival merit team after impressive displays.
Bourke dominated with the bat, while Hamilton was a class above with the ball, taking 14 wickets at an average of less than nine.
Disc golfers continue to star
Last week we highlighted the efforts of Joe Paull, who is one the future stars of disc golf in Australia.
This week, more Darling Downs guns have made their mark, this time at Queensland level.
Brendan Deurloo took out the 2024 Queensland MA50 championship, while Sarah Mabee claimed the FA2 Queensland Tour Championship after dominant years from the duo.
Big week for Darling Downs domestic cricketers
After a difficult start to the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season, Darling Downs pace bowler Mark Steketee led Queensland to a breakthrough win over Victoria.
The 30-year-old scored 97 runs with the bat across his two innings and took six wickets for the match -including the game-sealing scalp of Xavier Crone to help the Bulls to a 23-run win.
Meanwhile, Toowoomba’s Jack Wildermuth - who also featured in the Bulls’ win over Victoria - is set to return to the Brisbane Heat after it was confirmed he would be re-signing with the club for BBL14.
Week 1
Australian champ
Zoe Christodoulou added another piece of hardware to her growing trophy cabinet at the weekend.
Fighting in Newcastle the 20-year-old Toowoomba boxer won the Elite Female 51-54kg Australian Women’s Title.
Coach Dan Long praised her performance against Zoe Gould with a determined Christodoulou digging deep to secure a decision win after the fight went the distance.
Christodoulou also won gold in the 51-54kg division of the Australasia Amateur Boxing Titles earlier this year.
Touch football domination
Toowoomba Touch Association are on cloud nine this week celebrating a number of massive achievements.
In between torrential downpours TTA’s rep teams, the Twisters, were a force to reckoned with at the 2024 Queensland State Cup.
The Twisters claimed Premier Mixed and Women’s 30s gold and finished runner-up in the Masters Mixed division.
TTA also had plenty of reason to celebrate at the Queensland Touch Football Awards Night coming back to the Garden City with several big wins:
Large Affiliate of the Year
Toowoomba All Abilities Inclusion Category winner
Senior Player of the Year: Tom Quinlivan
Junior Player of the Year: Bailey Deakin
Deurloo wins gold
Toowoomba’s Sienna Deurloo was among a strong Queensland contingent that dominated the WA Open Water State Championships at Coogee Beach last week.
Deurloo, 2hrs 05mins 12.6secs, finished nearly three minutes ahead of fellow Queenslander Daisy Quinn to win the women’s premier 10km race.
Competing at the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships in Italy in September Deurloo finished 13th in the Women’s 10km and seventh in the Mixed 4x1500m relay.
Disc golfer continues impressive run
15-year-old disc golfer Joe Paull has been a class above in the junior disc golf ranks and claimed one of his biggest titles to date, when he won the MJ15 Australian Disc Golf Championship in New South Wales on the weekend.
Paull claimed his 21st career win from 35 events and put in a dominant performance across the three rounds, scoring -2, with his closest competitor more than 20 shots back.
Got a story which you think deserves to be featured in our sports shorts series? Let us know at jason.gibbs@news.com.au and Lachlan.onions@news.com.au
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