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A new rugby league season is nearly upon us.

But before the fast-paced nature of the opening rounds consume participants and fans alike, it’s time to reflect on the past 12 months.

The 2024 Queensland Rugby League Annual Report has it all covered – from the passion and pride displayed on community rugby league fields, to the courage and skill of those who represented the Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons and Queensland Maroons.

The report includes a heartfelt message from chief executive officer Ben Ikin.

Ben Ikin's CEO Report

2024 was another big year for rugby league in Queensland, headlined by our Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons winning the first ever three game women’s State of Origin series.

The back story to this historic victory is inspiring, and when told through the eyes of captain Ali Brigginshaw, we better understand the journey for many of our elite female players.

As a young girl playing rugby league against the boys, Ali was better than most of them.

Good enough to be selected in an under 12s representative carnival and play against a young lad by the name of Daly Cherry-Evans.

But as good as Ali was, the rules of the day meant she had to give up the game at 13.

Never one to be beaten, Ali poured her energies into touch football and kept honing her skills for the day she would be allowed to re-enter the full contact version of the game.

When that fateful day finally arrived, a rugby league superstar quickly emerged, and the legend has been building ever since.

Like all our female trailblazers, it’s been a tough and winding road for Ali, so I can’t imagine how proud she must have felt leading out the Maroons onto Suncorp Stadium in front of 25,000 passionate fans.

To think that a young girl who had to give up the game would go on to captain a winning Queensland State of Origin team is incredible.

Ali’s story captures every element of what makes our game great: courage, determination, aspiration, inspiration, losing, learning, winning, and most of all, enduring.

And like everyone who climbs to the top of the rugby league mountain, Ali’s success couldn’t have happened without a whole lot of good people supporting her along the way.

Those lucky few who get to pull on a Maroons jersey have all been coached, managed, refereed, served, and strapped by individuals who do what they do only for the love of the game.

Without those people, our volunteers, Ali Brigginshaw and all her fellow Maroons don’t get to climb that mountain, meaning our State of Origin success also belongs to them.

No volunteers, no Maroons, it’s that simple, so to our volunteer army of 20,000, the QRL says thank you.

There were some other notable achievements worth celebrating across 2024:

  • Registered club participation broke through 70,000 for the first time
  • Norths Devils won their third Hostplus Cup premiership in four years, along with the NRL State Championship after overcoming the New South Wales Cup premiers
  • Mackay Cutters flew the flag for regional Queensland with a superb grand final win in the expanded 10-team BMD Premiership
  • Aspirational under 17 male and female players shone on and off the field as part of City versus Country development games, while the best of community rugby league also wore the City and Country colours with pride on QRL Grand Final day
  • The juggernaut that is the annual men’s State of Origin series rolled on with another epic contest between two fierce rivals; and the historic women’s series set new attendance and television ratings records
  • The QRL’s Infrastructure Strategy helped deliver more funding for Queensland clubs and entities than ever before

While we celebrated many highs, we also mourned the loss of some outstanding contributors to the game, most notably former QRL director Darryl Van de Velde.

Darryl’s lifelong commitment to rugby league, both on and off the field, left an indelible mark, and he will be deeply missed.

Looking to the future, and a new era commenced for the QRL in 2024, with the very capable and experienced Brian Canavan being appointed as QRL Chair.

With a gold standard rugby league resume, I have no doubt that Brian will provide exemplary leadership for our organisation.

Which leaves me to farewell my friend and mentor, Bruce Hatcher.

Having only met Bruce for the first time when I joined the QRL Board in 2018, I was quickly taken by his intellect and honesty, a combination that can be quite confronting for the uninitiated.

I learned many things during our time together, the most important of which was to never compromise your integrity.

Bruce always fought for what he believed in, not what was convenient, and because of that the QRL and rugby league is in a better place.

And finally, to the QRL Board, our hard-working staff, and wonderful sponsorship family, thank you for your support this year.

Our attention now turns to 2025, and once again, everyone at the QRL will be focussed on making sure rugby league remains the dominant sporting code in Queensland.