COUNTRY CALLER FOOTBALL COVERAGE SPONSORED BY INTURA
By HARRY CLARKE
WHEN young footballer Emily Turnbull takes the field in Toowoomba for the first time tomorrow, she’ll be embarking on her ambition to become a professional rugby league player – a dream that’s developed since her first game only months ago.
The 16-year-old from St George will also be continuing a proud family tradition of sporting prowess.
Turnbull’s great, great uncle was none other than Tom Dancey, the lightning fast Aboriginal runner from Dirranbandi in south west Queensland, who famously won the Stawell Gift footrace in Melbourne in 1910.
Tom Dancey has been immortalised with a statue in the main street of Dirranbandi. In 2017 he was the subject of a nice profile piece in the Courier Mail by sports journalist Grantlee Kieza.
Today, St George local Maxine Hicks carries on the story of the generations who’ve followed in Dancey’s fast footsteps. His niece, Pam Dancey, was one of the early participants in women’s rugby league in outback Queensland.
And as Maxine writes, Pam Dancey’s great grand-daughters, Emily and Katie Turnbull, are now turning heads on the football field, doing the St George community proud.
By MAXINE HICKS
Pam was a small statue of a girl. She went to school in Dirranbandi until Year-9.
She has always loved rugby league and enjoyed playing with the girls, whether it was at school or just for fun.
Pam came from a family that wasn’t shy of hard work and she too learnt that from a young age.
At the age of 15 or so she was asked if she would like to have a run in the local women’s side. She said yes and from that day forward she played at any given chance.
Her position was wing and sometimes she would play dummy half.
When asked, she recalls that the ladies from Mungindi were a formidable side, but so were the girls from St George.
COUNTRY CALLER FOOTBALL COVERAGE SPONSORED BY INTURA
She recalls she never sustained any injuries, only getting cut up by burs as there was no grass – just the lack of, back then.
Traveling to games away meant it would be a dusty ride as a lot of the roads were not sealed back then.
Pam quickly became a lady to watch because she could run and if given too much of a head start she was very hard to run down.
She continued on playing for a few years more until she decided to call it quits as she had a wedding to plan for.
She was married on the 5th March 1960 at the age of 21 at Dirranbandi. She then settled down to married life having a family of her own, four boys and two girls. Three of her boys continued the Dancey legacy of rugby league until age became a factor.
Then two of Pam’s great grandchildren are taking on the game of women’s rugby league and Pam is so pleased that they too are following their dream.
Today you will find Pam living in St George. She is 83-years-young and takes life at a much slower pace, but still enjoys watching rugby league, whether it’s on the sideline or on the television.
Emily Turnbull, great grand-daughter of Pam Dancey, comes from a family who loves their rugby league and, as we all know, some of Australia’s best rugby league players come from the bush.
Emily started playing rugby league in primary school, but she never thought much about it until Matt Rogers came to town and had a barbecue with the girls’ team at the St George High School.
He spoke of his travels throughout his career as a rugby league player and now has his own business called Rogers Sports Management. He even had a game of hand ball with the girls and after that day Emily was hooked.
Emily is a high school student and works when she can to cover costs.
COUNTRY CALLER FOOTBALL COVERAGE SPONSORED BY INTURA
Her first game was at St George in October 2021 and little did she know that she was being watched. Emily got picked to go to Gladstone by (NRL Women’s great) Ally Brigginshaw.
Emily’s position is front and second row but she has played centre. Gladstone was her first big taste of rugby league, after she returned back to St George she learned that she was picked by Peter Rafter to go to Barcaldine to play.
After that things went quiet for Emily as there’s no under-16 girls competition out in St George, so her mother and younger sister, Katie, moved to Toowoomba where the pair signed up to play for the Toowoomba Valleys club.
This is a sister act, and Emily is willing to put in the hard yards not to just play at a club. Her aim is higher. She wants to play for Australia and for Queensland.
These two sisters know what they want and they are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed and to make their great grandmother and their family proud.