Sport
1 July, 2025
Rugby league championships inject cash into the city
Hundreds flocked to Mount Isa for the school sport championships.
Mount Isa has enjoyed the fruits of hosting the rugby league state championships, with hundreds of visitors flocking to the Outback city for the week-long carnival.
Parents and children came from all across the state for the Queensland School Sport event for 11-12 years boys, injecting hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy.
Caravan parks and motels were booked out, restaurants, cafes and clubs were full as an additional 200 young footy players and their families converged on the North West.
Convenor Hannah Clarke from Happy Valley State School said it was a great six days, culminating with the barnstorming 30-12 victory of Metro West in Tuesday afternoon’s final against South Coast at Alec Inch Oval.
“It just goes to show that Mount Isa can host these events and put on a great show,” she said.
“We got a lot of great feedback – many of the families hadn’t been further west than Toowoomba.”
Ms Clarke said the challenges of travelling such a far distance to play sport became evident to the metro and coastal participants, who saw the challenges facing Outback kids each and every year.
She said her highlight of the week was watching and hearing the crowd erupt with joy when Kade Stewart scored against the fourth-placed Sunshine Coast.
“There was a big crowd and the whole place went up as one,” she said.
“It was a tough week for our North West boys but they didn’t drop their heads throughout the week and won a lot of support.”
Always an underdog in the state rugby league championships, the North West did it tough for most of the week.
They lost all of their matches except against their fellow Outback rivals South West. They met twice and drew both times.
However, in Tuesday’s decider, South West scored first, earning them the Western Cup for 2025.
NORTH WEST RESULTS
Day 1: Lost 40-0 v Capricornia
Player of match: Miller Parkes
Day 2: Lost 24-0 v Northern
Player of match: Kade Stewart
Day 3: Lost 36-4 v Sunshine Coast
Player of match: Regan Fraser
Day 4: Drew 8-8 v South West
Player of match: Kaimana Pomare
Day 5: Lost 34-4 v Darling Downs
Player of match: Samuel Drake
Day 6: Drew 6-6 v South West
Player of match: Connor Richardson