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By HARRY CLARKE
THE scoreboard reflected a one-sided affair but that didn’t detract from the spectacle on display, nor the general celebration of country rugby league, as Miles hosted the first Beetson-Gibbs Outback Interstate Challenge held in more than a decade.
Hailed as the ‘fourth State of Origin’, the Beetson-Gibbs clash pits Queensland against New South Wales with players from rural and remote areas selected to represent their respective states.
The match was revived on Saturday for the first time since 2011 to coincide with Queensland Rugby League’s annual country round, which sees all Hostplus Q-Cup matches played in small towns around the state.
The outback origin in Miles was a curtain raiser for the Redliffe Dolphins match against the Burleigh Bears.
“We’ve decided this is the opportune time to pay tribute to two legends of outback rugby league – Arthur Beetson and Ron Gibbs – and their contribution,” said QRL central regional manager Rob Crowe.
“We all know the story of ‘Big Artie’, who rose from a community outside Roma to become the inaugural Queensland Maroons captain and first Indigenous skipper of an Australian representative sporting team.
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“When we asked NSW Outback who they wanted to honour, they straight away said Ronny “Rambo” Gibbs, the former Easts, Manly, Gold Coast, and Wests backrower.
“Born in Brewarrina and raised in Bourke, Gibbs continues to dedicate himself to creating opportunities for players in outback NSW.”
An inaugural outback origin women’s game was also held. Crowe said the QRL was committed to making the interstate clash an annual fixture.
A good portion of the Queensland men’s team came from the Roma & District competition but there was a handful of Longreach/Ilfracombe Tigers and Barcaldine Sand Goannas among the lineup.
Towering forwards Tasman Coombes and Rakeem Rainbow travelled 20 hours from Normanton for the match, while John Wichman came from Mount Isa.
South of the border, far western clubs including the Menindee Yabbies, the Wilcannia Boomerangs and the Broken Hill Scorpions were represented in the NSW Outback men’s and women’s teams.
“It’s massive for NSW and Queensland players to represent their areas,” said Queensland Outback coach and former Maroon, John Doyle.
“All of the areas that they come from – no one hears about or talks about because cause they’re so far away. They get to put it on display here, and people see what’s out there and the ability that they’ve got.
“The fact some guys travelled 20 hours to play shows how committed they are and what it means to be here, so we’ll keep building that excitement about it and get this product better and better, so more people come out to watch them.”
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NSW Outback coach and St George Dragon legend Nathan Blacklock said the event was more about the experience and less about the interstate rivalry.
“The guys who came up have had a great time. It was a long bus trip but it brought the guys together from different areas, they’ve all come together and they’re mates now.
“From here on there’s that mateship, they get to play the boys up here and hopefully we can host the Queensland fellas next year.”
Following a nail-biting win by NSW Outback in the women’s game, Queensland dominated NSW right from kickoff in the men’s fixture.
There was hard and fast footy right across the park by the maroon team, highlighted by a blistering performance on the wing by Barcaldine’s Ezekiel Thompson (pictured) who scored three tries and kicked seven from ten conversions.
Queensland’s pack led by prop Chris Gelhaar and second rowers Tasman Coombes and Andrew Hart bulldozed down the middle and made life easy for play makers Matt York and captain Ollie Peak.
One of NSW’s standout performances came from fullback Dylan Ciprian, who was gutsy in defence whenever Queensland broke the line and handled plenty of pressure under the highball.
The final score was 52-0 to Queensland.
“We just came out and played our football, played the way we wanted to, stayed patient and just let the points come,” Peak said.
“Everyone’s just really keen to have a go. We’re all fit and keen to do the hard work. It gelled from the get-go.
“The idea of the Outback State of Origin is special, it gives guys from the bush a chance to be involved, to wear the Queensland jersey I suppose.
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“It’s good for our western competitions and up in the north west, because they don’t get much footy out there. It’s unreal for our league, and for places out here like Miles, having things like Q-Cup here gets us on the map.”
Following the interstate men’s and women’s game, the Redcliffe Dolphins recorded a comprehensive 38-6 win over the Burleigh Bears in the Hostplus Q-Cup fixture, entertaining the Miles crowd with perhaps the highest level of footy ever seen in the town.
Among the crowd was Queensland Rugby League CEO Ben Ikin, who said country rugby league was a special component of the sport in Australia.
“To think that we can pull together a side of passionate men and women to go against each other from NSW and Queensland – from the most remote places across our respective states – speaks to that passion,” Ikin said.
“That passion was on display today. It’s not what you would call State of Origin level execution, but the passion is exactly the same.
“Coming to places like this and watching this kind of football makes you feel good about rugby league.
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“The bush represents something unique for Australia. There’s a difference in pace out here. There’s a wisdom in the bush that you just don’t get in the city.
“When you encounter a bush footballer or someone who coaches bush footy, they think about and talk about the game a bit differently, they’re passionate about different things.
“I think what comes out of the bush is a very important and integral part of what we do and it balances up that very city-centric approach, particularly at the elite level.
“There’s something very natural and organic about how footy is played out here and I don’t think the game should never loose that.”
