Ipswich Jets look back at 40 years of competition

Old Boys Day saw many past players come to watch the opening round of the season and reminisce about seasons played years ago.

The first year of the State League was a 14-team competition with the eight Brisbane teams taking on six country sides in the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Central Queensland and North Queensland.

The jumpers had Colonel Sanders on the front and there was prize money of $47,000 up for grabs for the winning club.

When the team first ran onto the field in 1982, it was a night of firsts; the first Ipswich Jets game and first state league game.

The rainy Friday night brought 3000 local fans to North Ipswich Reserve to experience history.

Jets centre Rod Beare was there the first night and fondly remembers the first Jets game.

“It was raining and the Reserve was packed, Ipswich people really came out to support the Jets,” Beare said.

“We came from our Ipswich clubs to play for the Jets, I was at Booval Swifts and got the call up, I remember road runs up Mt Cootha in the heat in January.

“It made it difficult to come from other clubs and for only seven games, but Greg Quinn did a great job as captain-coach.

“Jets couldn’t have picked a better first captain and coach.

“I know it shows we didn’t win a game, but we weren’t far off that season.

“We just lacked that experience and punch that would have got us a few wins.”

Quinn – Ipswich’s first captain and coach – brought all the experience of playing for Brisbane and Queensland and took on the dual role for the Jets.

The Ipswich leader was home after playing for Brothers and finished the night with the side’s first try in Ipswich’s 13-7 loss.

“I had spent the last two years under Wayne Bennett at Brothers, so I brought a lot of his training methods to the Jets,” Quinn said.

“It was very new for Ipswich players, but we all in it together and the fact I was training and playing too meant I was putting in as well.

“The selectors did a great job with that first Ipswich year, I think we got the best out of the Ipswich Rugby League and I remember we started preparing as soon as the Ipswich season was over in 1981 for that 1982 season.

“We didn’t win games, but we were fighting hard, and I think we never gave up against some very good opponents.”

Pulling the strings and moving the Jets around a wet North Ipswich Reserve against Brothers was Kevin Langer.

Langer had played for the Australian Under 18 side the year before and was in his first year of the big time.

“I think I may have played one game in A Grade for Norths Tigers, dad didn’t want me to play so he was missing one game and Norths got me a run,” Langer laughed.

“I was pretty young, there was me and our winger Wayne Sengelman who were both straight out of Under 18’s and into this new competition for the Jets.

“It was a difficult situation to pull players from all over Ipswich, but we did our best to make it work.

“It was very exciting and we were pretty much an Ipswich Rugby League rep team playing in the State League against the big boys from Brisbane.

“I remember everyone was bigger than me.

“Forty years, it’s a long time ago.”

The player of the match was Brothers hooker Trevor Bailey.

“The Brothers’ boys loved playing in the State League, it was such a good competition, and we all knew what was going to happen out at Ipswich,” Bailey said.

“You may have been the new boys, but we had all played there before or knew someone from Ipswich.

“I remember it was wet and the banter from the crowd was pretty full on.

“I think rugby league banter was invented in Ipswich.”

Overall, the game of rugby league doesn’t change too much; and at North Ipswich Reserve on Old Boys Day, there was plenty of banter and recollections of 40 years of the Ipswich Jets.