Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
STARS PREMIERS 1934, 1935, 1937
Back Row: J Flegler, G Pease, W King, J Riley, J Hudson, J Riley, J Cairns, R Agnew.
Front Row: T Green, L Wilkie, J Riley, I Scraggs (Capt), E Jago.
By Helen Cook
From the pioneering teams of the 1920s to Australian representatives and today's rising stars, rugby league has been at the heart of Tully for a century, uniting generations of players, families and supporters.
When rugby league first kicked off in Tully in 1926, the town was still finding its feet. The sugar mill had only started crushing the year before, roads were rough and travelling to play football in another North Queensland town was an adventure.
One hundred years later, the Tully Tigers are celebrating a remarkable sporting history, built on premiership victories, outstanding players and generations of volunteers who have kept the game alive.
For club president Anthony Emmi, the enduring strength of Tully rugby league is its community.
"We've got a lot of volunteers and supporters who probably didn't even play footy, but they love the club, they love the community," he said.
The earliest competition featured teams representing the growing town and surrounding districts, including the Mill, Wanderers, Warriors, Stars, Colts and El Arish.
By the 1930s, the Stars had become a dominant force, while Tully representative sides travelled by train to compete against other northern towns. In 1939, Tully claimed a major representative title, defeating Collinsville 14–5 in the Wilson Cup final.
The Second World War interrupted sporting life, but rugby league flourished again in the postwar years, with experienced players and coaches arriving from southern centres.
The club's greatest triumph came in 1963, when Tully won the prestigious North Queensland Foley Shield, defeating Burdekin 29–15 under captain-coach Bob Banks.
The team included Queensland representatives Danny Clifford and local cane farmer Angelo Crema, whose achievements would become part of Tully's sporting folklore. Clifford captained North Queensland against Australia in 1964, while Crema went on to represent Australia against Great Britain in 1966.
Long before professional contracts, television coverage and NRL superstars, rugby league in Tully was a colourful affair, with fierce local rivalries, adventurous travel arrangements and some memorable characters.
In the early years, football loyalties could even depend on which pub you frequented. The Stars were associated with the bottom pub, while the Colts were linked to the top pub, adding another dimension to the competition between local teams.
Getting to away games was another challenge. With few cars and limited roads, representative teams often relied on trains to travel between North Queensland towns.
By the 1950s, improved transport and growing competition saw Tully begin attracting experienced footballers and coaches from further afield.
One particularly colourful appointment was Reg Austin, a professional sprinter from Sydney who was recruited as captain-coach in 1959 for the princely sum of £500. Five years later, another intriguing name appeared in Tully's coaching records: Sugar Ray Robinson, who took charge in 1964.
The era also produced its share of famously tough footballers.
Tigers current president Anthony Emmi recalled the reputation of Queensland representative Danny Clifford, whose uncompromising playing style became part of local rugby league folklore.
"All the old fellas, they just all used to say he was the hardest man in rugby league," he said.
As regional competitions evolved, Tully joined the Innisfail competition in 1978, claiming an A-grade premiership in 1985 under coach Carlo Costa. Further success followed in the Herbert River competition, with premierships in 1989 and 1990 under Rick Campbell.
The Tigers joined the Cairns District Rugby League in 1994, winning their first A-grade premiership two years later under Grant Rix. The establishment of the North Queensland Cowboys in 1995 created new opportunities for aspiring footballers, with Tully players progressing into professional rugby league.
More recently, Jake Clifford and Thomas Flegler have reached the NRL, while Romy Teitzel has enjoyed premiership success in the NRLW and represented Queensland.
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