With a Round 1 victory under our belts and attention turning to Friday's Queensland derby at Suncorp Stadium, another proud year for North Queensland Toyota Cowboys member Gerda Kersnovske has begun.
“I’m so glad the season is back! It’s such a long break for us [Cowboys supporters],” Ayr grandmother-of-10 Gerda said.
“I’ve been following the team since 2004 when my husband and I were lucky enough to get terrace seats to a home game, and I’ve been travelling to every home game since then.
“I’m really glad the season is starting again – the boys played hard last year, and we have every faith they will again this year!”
The Cowboys Platinum Star member also made the long journey to the 2015 NRL grand final, travelling by plane, train, bus and taxi to be there when the team took home the prestigious Provan-Summons trophy.
“When the team made the grand final in 2015, the whole family were quick to make plans to travel to Sydney, which of course made for an adventurous trip with five grandchildren in tow,” Gerda said.
From sleeping in cars to catch early morning flights, to taking caravan park courtesy buses to the game, the Kersnovske family were made into local media celebrities being interviewed by camera crews on a number of occasions; their photo even appears in the Townsville Bulletin's Ride to Glory keepsake.
“When I think about our grand final experience, I still get goosebumps – it’s a feeling I will never forget," Gerda said.
“After we made it back to Ayr, we had to share our story with the Cowboys team – it was our way of sharing how much we loved and supported the boys all the way to the end.”
Gerda penned a passionate letter to the club on their experience – here's an extract:
The grand final was here and our family of ten were so excited that we had qualified to play our Queensland rivals, so we were going to Sydney to watch our team bring home the trophy on our 20th Anniversary...
...Off we go to the game, everyone is excited ... we have never experienced anything like this before.
Our seats were three rows from the end of the field. What an excellent view, right in front of where Kyle Feldt scored the incredible try!!!
...we were all excited and crying with joy and goosebumps ... the boys brought the trophy HOME!
Gerda, thanks for your amazing support, and go Cowboys!
