by Matt Bowen

While I’ve been recovering from knee surgery the Cowboys have kept me busy with signings and activities that still keep me involved but follow the doctor’s orders to stay off my knee - writing for the new Development Diary is one of these!

Last month Jacob Lillyman and I went on a four-day junior development trip to the Gulf with Cowboys development manager Kristian Woolf (Woolfie). We covered a huge amount of far north Queensland and visited a number of indigenous communities along the way.

It’s a lot like going home for me – these are very close-knit communities and in most of them I meet someone who knows a relative of mine or also went to Abergowrie College. Creating programs for the young people to channel their energy, develop skills and build self-esteem are critical and I’m proud to be in a position to give back through my role with the Cowboys.

Tuesday 22 July

We left Townsville for Cairns, stopping first at Djarragun College, an Indigenous boarding college at Gordonvale (about 20km south of Cairns). Then it was back to Cairns for the Cowboys Top Gun Academy session with our recruitment manager Clint Zammit. This was one of the regular training sessions for the two groups of Academy members (group 1 – 13 & 14 years; group 2 – 15 & 16 years) and it was great to see them go through their drills and play some touch with Woolfie.

Wednesday 23 July

We had a very early flight from Cairns to Century Mine for a meet & greet, then flew on to Burketown to spend a few hours on skills sessions with the students from Burketown State School.

Jacob and I in Doomadgee

We then headed west to Doomadgee for a full day of skills sessions with Doomadgee State School students and the men’s team and watched games for the juniors, seniors and females until 10.30pm!

Jacob running drills in Doomadgee

Thursday 24 July

Another early start and a flight across to Mornington Island, this time to spend some time at the Mornington Island PCYC breakfast program. This is a great initiative for the community that ensures that children start their day with a good breakfast. We also ran skills sessions and set up games for Year 7-10 students from Mornington Island State School.

Breakfast with Mornington Island PCYC

It was then off in another small plane to Normanton, where we spent the rest of the day running skills sessions with students from Normanton State School, and then training with around 50 Normanton Juniors and the Normanton Senior rugby league teams, including the Normanton Stingers who are currently leading the Mid West competition.

Friday 25 July

The last day of our tour took us to Kowanyama, just inland off the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. We spent most of our time there at Kowanyama State School and also had a meet & greet with the community before we flew out for Cairns, returning to Townsville early the next day. 

Kids in Kowanyama

For me, one of the most rewarding parts of the Cowboys’ development tours is the connection we make with the communities, particularly the children. Jacob and I are country boys and I think this makes it easier for them to relate to us, and to hopefully see us as role models.

Here’s a map of our travels:

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Thanks to Sport and Recreation Queensland for their support.

Proud sponsor of Cowboys Junior Development

by Luke O’Donnell

As an NRL player, being suspended is never a great experience, but I’m always one to look on the bright side and my recent seven-week timeout from playing for the Cowboys had some real positives.

I had the opportunity to travel to Mount Isa, Doomadgee and Mornington Island with my good mate Carl Webb and Cowboys Development Manager Kristian Woolf and to meet some very inspiring young people who live in some very remote areas.

I grew up in Ulladulla in New South Wales and my family and I made the 200km trip to Sydney fairly regularly. At the time it seemed like a long way, but it was nothing compared to the distance that members of the communities in north-west Queensland and the Gulf would have to travel to get to the city. The towns and communities we visited are home to some passionate individuals who really care about the well-being and future of their youth.

Day 1 – Saturday 12 July

We left our home town of Townsville for Mt Isa, with our first stop being a public signing session at Bell and Moir Toyota. There were around 50 people waiting for us when we arrived and it was great to receive such a warm welcome.

Day 2 – Sunday 13 July

Webbie and I went along to the Mount Isa Junior League grounds where we signed autographs and met the players. The highlight of the day was when we got to ‘coach’ a team each for a ‘friendly’ - Carl and I gave the teams half-time advice and were pretty vocal from the sidelines as well. The players seemed to really enjoy it and both of us got a lot out of the interaction and seeing them respond to our coaching (I must remember to thank our coach more often!).

Day 3 – Monday 14 July

We started out early by spending some time with two of the local youth justice groups at the Mt Isa basketball courts. These groups are doing some amazing work with disengaged youths, and we were really inspired by their dedication, particularly to their efforts in breaking the cycle of drugs and alcohol. To break the ice a bit we all played a game of basketball – me on one team, Webbie and Kristian on the other – and found this to be a good way to connect. Both Carl and I talked about our backgrounds – me from New South Wales, and Carl from Mt Isa and then Dalby – and why and how we came to be playing rugby league at this level.

We then had a BBQ lunch with residents at Kalkadoon Alcohol Sobriety House. This facility has single and family quarters, and we felt it was a great opportunity to meet the children who live there and spend some time kicking the ball around with them.

Warm welcome in Doomadgee

Our third day of the tour ended with us travelling to Doomadgee, about 500km north-west of Mt Isa. The turn-out to the exhibition game we watched at the local sports ground was incredible, with around 2,000 people attending. After the game we went to a community meet & greet and enjoyed a great BBQ dinner, before spending a very comfortable night at the school guest house.

Carl Webb and I with Years 3 & 4 at Doomadgee

Day 4 – Tuesday 15 July

Our activities in Doomadgee continued with both Webbie and I speaking at the school assembly in the morning, then from Doomadgee we took a very small plane (my first time in an eight-seater) across to Mornington Island.

Mornington Island

This was a real eye-opener for me, as I’d only been out as far as Mt Isa before that. We visited the local school and spent a large part of the day running rugby league skills and development sessions for all the grades (P-10), before talking to the students at assembly in the afternoon. The Mornington Island PCYC organised a great meet and greet for us with about 250 people and I also trained with the local basketball team. 

Skills sessions with Years 7-10, Mornington Island

Day 5 – Wednesday 16 July
 
We flew back to Mt Isa early in the morning for the NRL Centenary gala day. This was a really enjoyable event as it was all about promoting the game we love and the Cowboys, and recognising the support of the people who live in those remote communities.

Happy Valley State School, Mt Isa

An important duty on the day was to attend the launch of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ partnership with Bush Children’s Mt Isa branch. Bush Children’s provides health and community services to Mt Isa and surrounding towns, and due to a skills shortage had recently been forced to close its doors. With the support of the Cowboys and corporate partner TP Human Capital, Bush Children’s is now well on its way to full operations again.

After that it was back on the plane to Townsville. Over the course of five days we travelled thousands of kilometres and spent time with some really terrific people. I hope our visit left some good memories of the Cowboys and rugby league and we thank everyone for their warm hospitality.

The map below shows our trip!

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Thanks to Sport and Recreation Queensland for their support.

Proud sponsor of Cowboys Junior Development