During the mid-1980’s, a host of North Queensland players were making a name for themselves with Brisbane or Sydney clubs as well as at State of Origin and international level.
In days gone by, they might have stayed home to play local league and progress from Foley Shield to higher representative honours, but times had changed.
This perhaps became a factor in the idea to have a North Queensland based side in an expanded national rugby league competition.
Another factor came in May 1989 when the Brisbane Broncos, in their second year of existence, played a mid-week cup match against Parramatta in front of 16,000 local rugby league fans at the old Townsville Sports Reserve,
This game was a success for the North Queensland Rugby League administrators, but it became much more thanks to Townsville Bulletin journalist, Doug Kingston.
Doug, prior to the game, interviewed the visiting boss of Rugby League, Ken Arthuson, posing the question “Should North Queensland have its own side in the big league?”. Arthurson said yes.
Doug went to work.
There were plenty of doubters, but Doug persevered, and after gaining local support, he helped set up a steering committee to investigate the possibility of having a North Queensland based rugby league team playing in an expanded national competition.
Later that year, with the blessing of his boss Ron ‘Shorty’ McLean, Doug organised a reader’s poll to gauge public opinion on whether North Queensland should have its own side. The poll returned a 97% “yes “result.
The seeds were sown and they soon germinated.
It took almost 6 years, but on March 11, 1995 Doug Kingston, still a journalist with the Townsville Bulletin, and his boss ‘Shorty’, by now the inaugural chairman of the new club, watched on proudly as the North Queensland Cowboys played their first game in an expanded 20-team league, in front of a full Stockland Stadium.
The dream had become reality.
Fast forward 31 years and Doug, now retired, can be satisfied with the role he played in the formation of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys. He, along with other key figures like McLean, inaugural CEO Kerry Boustead, inaugural coach Grant Bell and the first player to sign to the new club, Dean Schifilliti all deserve a very special place in the club’s history.
With the recent re-signing of exciting NRL player and Mackay junior, Jaxon Purdue, to a longer-term deal with the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, the quest to keep local players home to play rugby league on the national stage is working.
