Laurie Spina Shield nominations now open

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Laurie Spina Shield, proudly supported by Localsearch.

The Laurie Spina Shield is a two-day rugby league carnival for under-11 rugby league players run by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys.

Current Cowboys Michael Morgan, Kyle Feldt, Jake Clifford, Enari Tuala, Mitchell Dunn, Dan Russell, Nene Macdonald and Ben Barba all played in the Laurie Spina Shield as juniors.

The Laurie Spina Shield was established in 1997 and is named after the Cowboys' inaugural captain Laurie Spina.

The 23rd running of the event will be held on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20, culminating in the final being played prior to the Cowboys' Round 18 NRL clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at 1300SMILES Stadium.

2018 Laurie Spina Shield photo gallery

Almost 1,100 players took part in the 2018 carnival and Cowboys game development manager Liam Bartlett is confident of a similar turnout in 2019.

"The focus of the Laurie Spina Shield is based on player participation and enjoyment, which is not only a Cowboys initiative, but also something Laurie Spina himself has ensured the carnival has been centred on since its inception," Bartlett said.

"The event has grown into one of the biggest junior rugby league carnivals in Australia – last year we had teams from all across Queensland as well as the Northern Territory and the Torres Strait Islands and we're confident of having another bumper weekend again in 2019."

Teams can nominate for the 2019 Laurie Spina Shield by completing the nomination form at cowboys.com.au/lss.