Players and staff of Wattles Under 14 rugby league team will start a journey in a month’s time to participate in the 11th edition of the Adrian Vowles Cup held in Charleville.
Joining the Wattles, participating clubs, travelling from as far as Mt Isa, will take part in a two day Junior Rugby League Carnival with an aim of maintaining the already strong rugby league foundation in Charleville and the surrounding country areas.
Coach Glenn McMillan said that the competition wasa great concept for providing country league players an opportunity to play more football.
“In our district, there isn’t enough football which gets played,” McMillan said.
“We would play the same teams two or three times a year so to go out there (Charleville) and play different teams from all different regions is a great opportunity for the kids to develop which they are excited to do,” he said.
The carnival, which now has over 40 different teams competing, is named after Maroons representative Adrian Vowles who played junior football for the Charleville All Whites and Railways.
The annual competition first started as a platform to improve junior rugby league participation in Charleville and the wider surrounding areas.
With it being the club’s first time entering the under 14 carnival, the community rallied behind the team for their chance to compete.
“We had a great under 13 team that was keen to go, so I organised some fundraising for the boys,” McMillan said.
“We asked local businesses to see if they wanted to contribute to help out the team.
“Shirts were made to go out there with and it turned out we had enough fundraising to get jerseys as well.
“Most of the teams camp for the week at the showgrounds and dinners will be provided by parents.
“The boys are extremely excited to arrive and play footy,” he said.
The carnival will take place on both 23-24 February.
