The Normanton Stingers

 Normanton Stingers coach Paul Stevens was worried.

A former SAS officer was taking his charges through a gruelling pre-season at the start of this year and Paul was concerned they might pull the pin.

“For the first couple of months I didn’t think we’d have a team,” he said.

“I thought I would have to tell him to take it easy or they would pull out but to their credit they came through it.”

The hard work paid dividends as the Stingers went through the season undefeated in the Mid West Rugby League, winning the grand final in front of a home crowd of 850.

It was Normanton’s third grand final and second premiership in three years, having lost the 2006 decided by four points in its debut year.

As the pre-season would suggest, the club’s success has been built on hard work and unwavering commitment.

Normanton had to prove its commitment when it applied to join the Mid West league in 2005 – the year it reformed – playing other teams during their bye.

It is the most travelled team in the State, with its biggest trip a 1400 kilometre round journey to Hughenden, but it proved it was willing to do the miles and was granted entry the following year.

Normanton’s fitness has improved the team’s performance but Paul has instilled discipline into a side that has a healthy share of talent.

“We have a lot of indigenous players who liked to play a flashy game and score length of the field tries,” he said.

“I took that out of the game and introduced set plays. We concentrate on defence and hold the ball for a full set.

“It was hard at first, because our players wanted to pass the ball all the time, so we introduced rules like forwards can’t pass.”

Paul said although the team averaged 64 points across its games this year, he was more proud of the average 16 points conceded.

The team is well led by captain Les Henry and vice-captain Sorren Owens, who book their annual leave as soon as the fixture is announced each year so they don’t miss any games, and former Brisbane Bronco Tony Schaefer.

“The other players certainly play harder when he’s around because they are trying to impress him,” Paul said.

Tony is a diesel fitter with the Carpentaria Shire Council and asked Paul whether he could train with the side to keep fit. He offered to fill in if they needed him and Paul said there was a spot in the team if he wanted it.

He played all home games this year and is keen to commit to every game next year.

“He might have slowed down a step or two (since his Bronco days) but not by much,” Paul said.

“He doesn’t run with the ball because his knees are shot but no one can get past him.”

Former SAS officer Mark Hogno also came to Paul with a fitness query, this time asking him whether he could offer his services.

Mark is a Ranger Coordinator with the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and maintains a fierce fitness regime.

“There was a lot of running to get them fit but he also worked on their mind, helping them break through the pain barrier.

“There was a massive improvement because they boys used to say they were buggered but they now know what they can do.”

The improved fitness levels soon became apparent in the team’s first pre-season game against Hughenden.

“We took 14 blokes and I thought we’d be in trouble but we beat them 44-16 with one reserve,” Paul said.

It was also obvious throughout the season who had taken part in the pre-season and who hadn’t.

“Blokes that came in during the season had no hope of keeping up,” Paul said.

“One winger came to training and couldn’t keep up with a front rower. He was lying on the sidelines catching his breath and I told him: There’s big fat fellas running around and you’re lying here. We didn’t see him again after that.”

Paul is originally from Tara and played for Logan City in Brisbane before moving to Normanton to run the supermarket in 2003.

He said Normanton is not a traditional football town but it is clear the Stingers have made a massive impact in only four years. If the town is not already won over, it won’t be long.

The Stingers received money from the State Government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund for gym equipment then allowed all members of the community to utilise it.

Businesses also support the club through sponsorship, which enables it to raise about $20,000 each year.

The club bought their own bus for $30,000 to make those long road trips more comfortable and is about to build its own leagues club. The estimated total of $100,000 will be reduced through sponsors supplying building materials at cost price and installing electricity and plumbing for free.

All sponsors are listed on a supporter’s shirt and Paul said the number of fans that wear them around town ensures they receive excellent exposure.

“You can’t come to Normanton without seeing them,” he said.

“North Queensland Cowboys players often come to town for development work and have said no other town they go to is more supportive of their local team.”

Most importantly, the Stingers are using their profile to counter domestic violence in a campaign that has featured them on high profile television ads shown on the Imparja network and also in Brisbane during the recent State of Origin telecasts.

The slogan ‘Domestic Violence – it’s not our game’ was adopted by the team, which agreed to become role models in the community by taking a stand against domestic violence. Normanton police said domestic violence cases fell by 64 per cent in the first 12 months.

 

Capella Cattledogs

Muzza had taken it upon himself to provide me with an impromptu coaching session. It was my first night of training with the Capella Cattledogs and I certainly needed the help. I was a Victorian (“Mexican”), followed Australian Rules (“aerial ping pong”) and had never watched a full game of rugby in my life (“inconceivable”). So a lesson on the intricacies of the game they play in heaven could really help.

“Cookie,” Muzza said, calling me over to a half-formed scrum and indicating to the prop’s posterior. “You get down there, and shove your head right up his arse!” I see.

 

The Cattledogs and I seemed made for each other in season 2003 – they were desperately short of players and I, well, I had two legs and two arms.

I had moved to Emerald as a reporter with Queensland Country Life and was overjoyed to see the Showgrounds was the home of the local AFL club. However, finding 20 players to take the field each week had proven too much and the Emerald Saints folded a few years earlier.

So I took a mate’s advice to join him at the Cattledogs in the Central Highlands league. It was a totally foreign sport but the camaraderie around the team would be the same.

 

At 196cm (or six foot six in the old measurement) I was a natural fit in the second row. With Muzza’s advice ringing in my ears, I locked arms with my fellow Dogs and pushed hard in the scrum, getting closer to Ginger than I really cared to.

However, in the line-outs I was reduced to lifting the lighter bean-poles of the team. As a six foot six second rower who lifted others I felt like a cricketer who bats at number 11 and doesn’t bowl. But my fate was sealed at that first training session. My fellow forwards much preferred lifting Andrew and Pat, particularly Pat, who was about my height and 40 kilos lighter. He must have been 70 kilos wringing wet.

I’ll never forget being lifted that first time. I had never flown that high on the footy field down south. “How good is that!” I said to my teammates after coming down with the ball, the excitement raw in my voice. “Don’t get used to it fatty,” was their delicate response.

So I was resigned to hoisting Andrew and Pat into the air at line-outs – their arms stretching to the heavens like giant testicles, in the words of former Aussie Rules legend turned commentator Jack Dyer.

 

 

My first game was certainly memorable – some fans still talk of how tight my shorts were on debut. I didn’t think anything of it as I scrounged around in the communal kit bag before the game. They were certainly snug but nothing you wouldn’t see at any AFL game. It dawned on me as I ran out onto the ground with my teammates – they with their baggy shorts covering their thighs; me with nowhere to hide. It was just as well I wasn’t jumping in the line-outs as there was precious little to grab hold of. Most in the crowd were curious about my short selection until they were told I was from Victoria. That makes sense, was the consensus, an Aussie Rules bloke.

 

We lost the game but won the “boat race” afterwards, with three Cattledogs drinking their cans at a faster pace than the opposition. This trend would continue all year – a defeat in the main event followed by a consolation victory. The Cattledogs did notch up one win on the field that year but I wasn’t part of it. It was one of two games I missed due to work commitments. Despite this, I look back fondly on that season. After all, it’s not all about the win on the day; it’s as much about the club and playing a small part in its history – that and the “boat race”.