After a 12-year hiatus, the Wide Bay Bulls are set for a return to Queensland Rugby League's statewide competitions.
Last featuring in the 2009 under 18 Mal Meninga Cup season, the Bulls will dust off the bright red jerseys and participate in not only the revamped under 18 competition, but also in the returned under 16 Cyril Connell Challenge and new Under 19 girls competition.
With the locale being a key development area in the Central region, QRL Wide Bay area manager Nathan Mclean said a lot of hard work had gone into the Bulls' inclusion.
"During the recent player development and pathways review, there was a heavy push for the Wide Bay Region to be included in the reformatted competitions being a major development area," Mclean said.
"In consultation with the junior leagues in the area, they felt they were in a good position to get the teams up and running in readiness for the 2021 season.
"With the under 16 program carrying on from its involvement in the previous Central Region junior representative program, it has been quite a joint-effort by our staff and volunteers to get the under 18 boys and under 19 girls teams off the ground.
"There is still plenty of hard work happening behind the scenes to make it all happen, but we can't wait to see the Bulls back in action in 2021."
Trials for the three sides will be held on Saturday, November 21 at Eskdale Park, Maryborough with nominations for these trials closing on Wednesday, November 18.
The Bulls are also looking for relevant coaching staff to lead their 2021 teams.
Interested applicants can apply here by 5pm Friday, November 13.
Any questions can be forwarded to widebaybulls2020@gmail.com.