8 December, 2022
Kilcoy Yowies back in 2023
THE return of the Kilcoy Yowies rugby league club is in motion, with a committee having been formed and a senior coach being signed.
The committee has a family look about it as it features married couple Rob and Alana Fischer, as well as Pat Bleakley and her son Michael.
Rob and Alana have been appointed president and secretary respectively, while club stalwarts Pat and Michael are treasurer and vice-president respectively.
Rob said the club was a continuation of the former Yowies club, rather than starting a new club from scratch.
With Kilcoy starved of a rugby league club since the start of the Covid pandemic nearly three years ago, players from the region have had to play for other clubs such as Stanley River or Beerwah.
With this in mind, Rob said moves were being made for Kilcoy to field senior and junior teams in the 2023 Sunshine Coast Gympie Rugby League (SCGRL) competition.
Having been in the Kilcoy region for about four years, Rob said a range of workers at Kilcoy Global Foods (KGF) – a mix of former rugby league players and newcomers – had expressed an interest in playing.
Rob said when he saw the Kilcoy-based Hopetoun Sports Fields, he contacted Pat “and went from there”.
“We’d like to get a footy club up and running,” Rob said.
“We’d like seniors but we really want juniors as well.”
Rob said the club was seeking to field one senior team, and junior teams from U6s through to U9s.
The U6s would play tag rather than tackle, and U7s would feature tag and a tackling program while the U8s and U9s would play tackle.
Rob said the seniors would most likely play in Division 2B, while the coach would be Anthony Longbottom who has a rugby league and rugby union background in NSW towns including Nowra and Inverell.
Rob started a Kilcoy Yowies rugby league social media page, before arranging for posters to be put up at KGF and at various shops in town.
With a number of sponsors also coming on board, Rob said, “Everyone who we talk to seems really keen.
“Now it’s getting the word out there to the parents for their kids, and getting flyers out to schools.
“The more we do, the more interest we seem to be getting.”
In the meantime, training sessions are being held at Hopetoun Sports Fields from 6pm on Mondays and Thursdays.
Rob said the seniors intended to play in the Nines Premier League (9PL) at the Gold Coast on January 28, with this inaugural event featuring 9-a-side teams ranging from the top of Queensland to the bottom of NSW.
Rob said the club was on the lookout for coaches, managers and trainers, as well as volunteers on game days to help with the canteen and collecting tickets at the gate.
Anyone interested to be in touch with the Yowies rugby league club is asked to send an email to kilcoyyowies@yahoo.com or visit the social media page.
