The more you know: CQ Capras

The CQ Capras play in their 500th Queensland Intrust Super Cup game in Round 6. Find out more about the history of the club and how they came to achieve this milestone.

Information below via the CQ Capras website.

CQ Capras History

The Central Queensland Capras are the premier rugby league club in Central Queensland.

Based in Rockhampton, the Capras represent the whole Central Queensland region from Bundaberg and Gladstone in the south, Emerald, Blackwater and Longreach in the west to Clermont in the north.

The Capras compete in the statewide Intrust Super Cup Competition which is the direct pathway to the NRL and widely regarded as the second-best rugby league competition in Australia.

Read: Capras to Queensland – making stars of Munster and Glasby

The club also has teams in the statewide Under 20 Hastings Deering Colts competition and Under 18 Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup.  

The Capras currently provide a true pathway for aspiring junior players to play their junior football in Central Queensland representing the Junior Capras through to the Intrust Super Cup level and then onto the NRL.

The CQ Capras has a rich history steeped in tradition and heritage within Central Queensland.

The CQ Capras club has nurtured and developed many young players that have gone on to represent at NRL, State of Origin and International level. Players like Matt Sing, Dave Taylor, PJ Marsh, Steve Bell, Justin Loomans, Corey Oates, Jack Granville, Cameron Munster, Tim Glasby, Kurt Mann and Ben Hunt just to name a few have electrified the local CQ crowds with their amazing rugby league skills and gone on to represent with pride this great region.

OUR HISTORY

In 1982, the QRL Central Queensland Division lead by Chairman Ron Wilkinson founded the Capras to participate in the newly formed Queensland Winfield State League Competition; the club was setup as a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Rockhampton, representing the Central Queensland region.

Their colours were Sky Blue and Maroon at that time. In 1996, the Queensland Rugby League Central Division entered a representative team, the Central Capras in the inaugural Queensland Cup competition.

The costs were too expensive for the Central Division to maintain, and in October 1998, it was decided that a private club should be entered into the then Queensland Cup.

Although this team was known as the Central Capras in 1999, it was decided to rename the team to the Central Comets to avoid confusion with the Capras representative teams.

In 2000, the Capras team that participated in the second-tier Cup competition changed their name to the Comets Rugby League Football Club.

With a new name and fresh look, the Comets have represented the top level of football in Central Queensland for six years.

(The Capras still remains as the name for the Central Queensland representative sides).

In 2002, the Comets formed an alignment with NRL team North Queensland Cowboys.

This close alignment provided opportunities for development of the Comets Rugby League Football Club, as well as providing opportunities and pathways for players to the NRL.

In late 2007, the Comets ceased their alignment with the Cowboys and formed an alignment with the Brisbane Broncos.

This relationship saw the Comets and the Broncos prosper through the development of local players.

The arrangement with the Broncos saw Broncos-contracted players not named in the weekly NRL side return to their home region and play for the Comets.

Dave Taylor, PJ Marsh, Tommy Hewitt, Ben Hunt and Guy Williams all played for the Comets while being contracted to the Broncos.  

The alignment with the Broncos also allowed current players to experience what it is like to train in a NRL environment.

Through this arrangement, Aaron Summers, Jade Williams, Ty Haynes and Ian Webster got the opportunity to develop their skills under the watchful eye of then Broncos coach Ivan Henjak by training with the Broncos side once a week during the 2009/10 preseason. 

With facilities rated among the best in the competition at that time, the Rockhampton Leagues Club and Browne Park provided a fantastic home ground for the Comets, and for Rugby League in Central Queensland.

The support from local sponsors and fans has been outstanding over the years; without this support it is unlikely that the Comets would have functioned successfully.  

In terms of success, 2009 was the Comets most successful season to date. During the season, the Comets side set a club record, winning 10 matches in a row during the season and made the finals for the first time.

The Comets finished the season in third place after beating eventual winners the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles in the first semi-final, but losing out to the Northern Pride in the major semi-final.

Return to Capras

Following the completion of the 2011 season in the Intrust Super Cup, the club entered into a rebuilding phase with a new executive.

The Comets experienced financial problems again during 2011 and the Rockhampton Leagues Club was approached and agreed to provide additional financial support.

In 2012, the new committee decided to revert the name of the club back to the Central Queensland Capras.

Since 1982, the CQ Capras name continued to be used by grassroots representative teams from Central Queensland and symbolises Central Queensland and has a proud place in the regions sporting history.  

Capras and Comets – competition standings

NOTE: Pre-1982, the team was known as Central Queensland (CQ).

Information via the CQ Capras History page on their website.