Chinchilla and surrounding towns will be the focus during three days of rugby league-based engagement in May in the lead-up to our Reconciliation and Memorial Day.
The area was really affected by the tragedy involving police officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, and community member Alan Dare, and in response, QRL Central chairman Danny McGuire and I believed strongly that having a rugby league carnival would help bring the community together.
Many of us watched the wonderful event the Queensland Police Service ran at Redcliffe in tribute to the officers, so holding these matches is QRL’s way of showing our support for the community. Families of the victims of the tragedy have been invited to attend.
Part of the event will include NRL game development officers, with the support of QPS members, attending schools in Chinchilla, Jandowae, Miles and Tara on Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26 before the main event on Saturday, May 27 at Bulldog Park in Chinchilla.
The day will feature a come-and-try activity, running concurrently with junior rugby league matches, followed by three senior matches - Central Crows versus QPS Women, Frank Fisher Invitational versus QPS Men and the Roma District Rugby League A grade clash between Chinchilla Bulldogs and Wallumbilla/Surat Red Bulls.
The Frank Fisher Invitational team is a representative side for Indigenous players in the Central region, named for a legend of Cherbourg who was a great rugby league player and all-round sportsman. His family kindly allowed us to name the inaugural Frank Fisher Cup in his honour in 2020.
It’s important to us because we have a large proportion of players of Indigenous backgrounds playing in our competitions and we recognise the hardships many families have had and wish to celebrate them through this representative opportunity.
The community support for the concept has been incredible and we look forward to hosting everyone.
Key dates
March 25: Lindsay Williams Cup, Open Men, Wondoan
March 25-26: Walker Weekend Under 13 boys and girls carnival, Toowoomba
March 31: Nominations close for 2023 QRL Volunteer of the Year Awards
April 14-16: Darren Lockyer Shield, Under 10 and Under 12 carnival, Roma
April 15: Matt Scott Cup, Under 11, Longreach
Celebrating our team
Carmen Limbrick
Role: League and club coordinator, Central Highlands
Hometown: Emerald
Favourite Maroons player: I have a few but JT (Jonathan Thurston) and Billy Slater most favourites
Favourite Maroons Origin moment: Too many to choose from, but most of all the best moments are when Queensland win
Why you love your job: I love my job because I get to help and support the players and volunteers who are passionate and love rugby league like myself. It is a great feeling walking around at training & on game days watching the players out on the field playing the game they love, seeing the friendships being made on and off the field and most of all seeing the smiles on their faces.
What Carmen brings to the team: Carmen has a strong work ethic and often works outside of her set hours to oversee the smooth running of competitions in the Central Highlands. Her kind nature endears her to the many volunteers that combine to make competitions work in the Central Highlands, which are often affected by the nature of shift work in the mining sector.
