McCall described the win as "shaking the monkey off the club's back". When he was chosen for Australia he received a telegram and 25 pounds from the club. [7][8] Notwithstanding, the semi-professional Redcliffe Dolphins continue to compete as they are in the Queensland Cup and other Queensland rugby league competitions. Redcliffe Dolphin players Des Webb, Keith Howard and Cliff Robinson after the 1959 reserve grade grand final. The modern era of the Redcliffe Dolphins began at Dolphin Park in the late 1970s. Besides those coming from Redcliffe other players had to be brought in from outside and they came from rugby union (Eagle Junction Club) and players from Brisbane Rugby League clubs who were invited to play for the club on Sundays. In 1965, Redcliffe won its first Brisbane Rugby League Premiership. A young player from Roma named Arthur Beetson stars before being enticed to Sydney to become an international and legend of the game. 1981 Beetson returns to captain-coach the Dolphins, with the team falling short in the BRL Grand Final. At the other end of the 60's (1969) Trevor Harken became the first home grown junior to come through the grades and play for Queensland. Download Team App now and search for Redcliffe Dolphins Juniors to enjoy our team app on the go. Contents 1 History 2 Name and colours 2.1 Jerseys 2.2 Kit sponsors and manufacturers 3 Players 3.1 2023 Signings 4 Home grounds 5 Further notes 6 References History [ edit] "It was self-contained back then and it was tribal. The success of the Dolphins on the football field has been mirrored by the success of the Leagues Club in the community. 1997 The Dolphins magic double they win both the Brisbane Rugby League competition and secure the Queensland Cup title for the first time. The team that represented the Club on this historic day was; Ken McCrohon, Kevin Benson, Peter Haggett, Buddy Hunter, Bernie Robinson, Keith Howard, Noel Gardner, Col Weier, Tommy Green, Jim Graham, Neville Edwards, Bob Kilmer, Dick Boxsell. Apart from those who played for Brisbane, Bob Gehrke was the first Redcliffe player to be chosen for Queensland. The transfer fee for Beetson and Yow Yeh were put into a fixed deposit account that was used as the basis of financing the building of the first clubhouse. The cash-rich Queenslanders want to stake an NRL claim, not as a feeder club, or as a partner in a new Brisbane franchise, but as a team in their own right. The Redcliffe Dolphins, who had entered the Brisbane Rugby League just 19 seasons earlier, were a decade removed from their first and only premiership, won on the back. The great thing about the club is that they put so much back into the community. As we came to the end of 1995 which will be remembered as the most tumultuous years in the history of this game we came to the end of the BRL competition as we know it. The Redcliffe Dolphins have a proud history of player development. ? In the early '90s, he was playing with the Canberra Raiders under then-captain Craig Bellamy. He hadpenned it that day on the back of a beer coaster and a piece of toilet paper on his way from Lang Park to Dolphin Oval. Being an Indigenous person didnt make any difference, you were just accepted for who you are and for your ability as a rugby league player.. With this in mind Don McLennan was given the responsibility of becoming joint secretary and soon organised representative games for the district team. Normal services had to be brought in. "That was to be the best that it can be and that was to be a team in the NRL and that is the way it evolved," he said. The clubs application to enter third and Second Grade teams into the Brisbane Rugby League was only successful after persistent lobbying from Secretary Don McLennan and Club officials. Most Improved Forward: Col Raaen The Redcliffe Dolpjhins Under-8s team in 1997, featuring current Manly and Queensland player Daly Cherry-Evans, holding the ball in the front row. Such a sudden loss of a genuine and sincere bloke as Bunny filled the club deep sorrow. Shaken by Nepal's Yeti Airlines crash, how can Australians ensure they fly safely overseas? The area was offered to the club for 10,000 pounds. Redcliffe Dolphins currently play in the InTrust Super Cup, a competition that meanders up Queenslands east coast from the southern-most point in Tweed Heads, through Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and across the Arafura Sea to Papua New Guinea. "I am getting goosebumps again, talking about it," he said. . We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Before the official opening match in May 1979 against fittingly our proposer into the big league Northern Suburbs, finances were stretched to the limit. With no gravity flow for the sewerage to Klingner Road, expensive pumps had to be acquired, power for floodlighting had to go underground to the main oval and the tunnel from the dressing rooms to the main oval was transhipped from Western Australia which cost $9000. The Redcliffe Dolphins thrived in the BRL. Here is how the Dolphins are shaping up for 2023. They knew they were in for a really torrid time. But the team still only finished one game short of yet another grand final and can be very proud of their efforts. The first fixture game for the club was played against Souths at Davies Park on April 2 1960. I played all 1947 with the Brothers club in the Brisbane Rugby League, and on Sunday with Redcliffe in the Sandgate competition, says Maule. Available from the Redcliffe leagues Club Source: Getty Images In 1958, as further development towards the future, the club employed former Norths first grader Dick Turner to coach Redcliffe's first under 16 team to play in the Brisbane Junior Rugby League fixtures of a Saturday and in the Murrumba League of a Sunday. 1994 The Dolphins begin a golden age by winning the Brisbane Rugby League Premiership. The Dolphins respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. Ed Chisholm. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, as Brisbane rugby league fans found a new loyalty for Broncos, iconic clubs such as Brothers and Fortitude Valley were forced to merge and many others had to fight to remain relevant. With their visual coaching aids and stationary made available they qualified Barry Muir and Brian Winney immediately. When construction work at Parliament House dried up, an increasingly hungry and broke Graham borrowed money to get his car fixed and headed home to make history. The main mode of transport to games was the back of gravel trucks with all players putting in 2 shillings for fuel. Redcliffe Dolphins have great supporters, says Stanley. Above all, the dream of the 50?s that all players should have the right to represent at higher levels has now been extended for their entry, if so desired, into the highest level of competition in the land. Don was seconded to the chairmanship of the juniors and did not return to Secretarial duties until 1970. "I would've been disappointed if I wasn't involved in that piece of Redcliffe's history," he said. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Cnr. Arthur Beetson played 56 game for Redcliffe. In 1992, the Queensland government allowed sporting clubs to put poker machines in their venues and things changed, with more revenue coming in. The circumstances under which this took place were not pleasant, but one which the senior club undertook with compassion and with the welfare of the junior players their only concern. When he died in 2011, the funeral was held at Dolphin Oval. The club continues to increase support for the local community, with the Dolphins Health Precinct opening to the public in January 2011. Redcliffe District Rugby League Football Clu The competition comprised of the nine BRL sides, Port Moresby and six country centres. Australian national coach Frank Stanton coached Redcliffe in 1980. Pressure to build a licensed club at Dolphin Oval was mounting, but to leave the old club which was a financially viable operation and to go into large debt had to be met with a great deal of caution. Redcliffe Dolphins players. Stability not only in its finances but in its board is something the club has prided itself on. I knew your mum loved her footy, Leis told McInnes simply. Pic Chris Higgins He approached two local men Tom Maule and Hughie Harvey to their interest in helping form and play with a new Rugby League based in Redcliffe. ". Redcliffe Dolphins' top 75 players revealed in its 75th year Tony Obst, Peter Leis, Artie Beetson, Ian Pearce, Wally Fullerton-Smith | The Courier Mail Redcliffe Dolphins' top 75 players revealed in its 75th year Who is the Redcliffe Dolphins greatest player? Since the competition was established in 1996, Redcliffe have qualified for 11 grand finals, lost six and won five. But while Beetson would go on to become Queenslands first captain in State of Origin and the first Indigenous captain of Australia, Yow Yeh died in the watch house at Mackay jail in 1975. It would be great to see them one day realise those dreams of becoming an NRL team.. Today Redcliffe Leagues Club boasts almost 30,000 members and over 200 staff who all help the Club live up to its motto as 'The Friendly Club'. The clubhouse had a nice bar area already established, but to meet the requirements of the liquor laws in relation to licensed premises, alterations had to be firstly carried out to meet the those pressures and later in the decade to accommodate the growth in membership of the club. Andrew Dawson A youthful Petero Civoniceva before he went on to become an NRL great. Unfortunately the Burleigh Bears pipped us at the post in first grade 12-10 but the season can be considered a success going from no teams in the grand final in 1998 to three teams in 1999. Bulletin Latest Headlines direct to your inbox, LeagueUnlimited | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer. Join our mailing list for all the latest news and views from the world of Rugby League. In the early 50's one of the major problems was transportation with Bus services on the Peninsula very limited and virtually non existent after dark, most players either walked or rode bikes to training. The Redcliffe club, although losing some outstanding players, should be very proud of the system they have in place, which leads their most promising products into the ?Big Time?. As we came to the end of the decade we finished one win short of a clean sweep on grand final day. See the bios for the 2022 Redcliffe Dolphins Hostplus Cup squad below. In January 1979, the committee proposed to name the complex Don McLennan Oval, but at the recipients request the ground was declared Dolphin Oval within the sporting development area of Talobilla Park. Not as a feeder club, or as a partner in a new Brisbane franchise, but as a team in its own right. The big prop forward grew up just over the road from Dolphin Oval, went to the local schools, jumped off the famous old jetty, progressed through the junior ranks at the Dolphins and described Redcliffe in his autobiography as my heartland. The first priority was to set up a licensed club trading 10.00am to 10.00pm seven days a week. 1968 The club takes on the name that has made it famous across Queensland, Australia and now the globe The Dolphins. of a downward economy was developing. A lot of the elderly ladies supported the club year in, year out, whether we were getting flogged or winning premierships.. Felise Kaufusi 12. Redcliffe Dolphins Reader is a former commercial director at the Broncos, and exudes confidence that the Dolphins could stand on . It was the big thing in town, most people had a team, and it was the way Brisbane defined itself. * Receive important messages directly from your Club! The club could arguably be called the club of the decade. Dudley Argus brought the Club from ?The Consolidating Years? The Dolphins were officially unveiled as the NRL's 17th team . Despite some initial problems the competition was a successful innovation by the Queensland Rugby League with most of the games proving to be of a high standard. The Old Boys Club led by Neil Okamura made life a lot easier when at a cost of $2780 they paid for a perimeter cyclone fence around the main oval. The people of Redcliffe are a slightly different breed, removed from the rest of Brisbane by the bridge that spans Bramble Bay. Rugby league fans can now ensure they are part of history with one-game memberships available from tomorrow that include guaranteed seats at two of the biggest matches of the 2023 NRL season. We name Redcliffe's 75 best players in the club's 75th anniversary season. He said at that time it looked impossible that a club like Redcliffe could join a national competition, but it started to change as the team began winning during the '90s. I went to see Brothers play Redcliffe in the 1987 BRL grand final, and it was packed, remembers Greg Mallory, a Brothers supporter and the author of Voices from Brisbane Rugby League. If we were going to go in the NRL, it would be as the Dolphins, said Jones. When the kids grew up, they actually wanted to play first grade for Redcliffe," he said. "We have done that and we continue to do that.". "He just came and gave me a bear hug. The Redcliffe club won further premierships in 1994, 1996 and 1997 and has also appeared in 12 Queensland Cup grand finals, making it the most successful team in that competition. Its a way of reconnecting with friends and remembering where you come from, he says. Benson said as a 19-year-old he couldn't believe his luck running onto the pitch with his childhood heroes, including captain-coach Arthur Beetson. The '84 grand final team whichlost to Wynnum included at least seven international players. Best and Fairest: Col Weier Within 12 months of the sod turning ceremony, the building was ready to be officially opened by the Mayor of Redcliffe and Past President of the Redcliffe Football Club, Alderman Alf Charlish. In 1990, he was awarded the Rothmans Medal, the premier individual award in the competition. Klingner & Ashmole Roads, Redcliffe QLD Australia 4020 | 07 3203 7333, Copyright Redcliffe Leagues Club - All Rights Reserved. 4 min read. It was a heartbreaking loss for the team, undone byaMal Meninga pass in the dying seconds of the game. Dick led an executive, which was hardworking and forward thinking and was by an energetic committee. In return for the Old Boys building a solid can booth at the northern end of the ground, they were granted to sell liquor on a commission basis. With financial support from local, state and federal governments, the club is currently building a $15m boutique stadium that former player and current president Bob Jones believes will secure the Dolphins future. "It was quite advanced back then and we put that all into the game plan and it really turned things around defensively," he said. The Dolphins are the first team to join the NRL competition since the Gold Coast Titans joined in 2007. You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content. Also two weeks earlier the third grade side won their grand final to make it four out of a possible four grand finals. The club entered 3 teams in the first season an u-17, reserve grade and first grade teams in the Sandgate Suburban Rugby League competition which was played on Sundays, in those days the Brisbane Rugby League competition was played on a Saturday. In 2023, the Redcliffe Dolphins renamed to be a more inclusive Queensland side will become the NRL's 17th side and the fourthfor the state. Former test halfback Mark Murray was appointed first grade coach after winning two successive colts premierships. The Dolphins have a rich 73-year history and have produced a plethora of greats including Petero Civoniceva, Brent Tate and Peter Leis. The list "Redcliffe Dolphins players" has been viewed 287 times. The Dolphins Top 30 Squad Felise Kaufusi Ray Stone Jesse Bromwich Kenny Bromwich Tom Gilbert Over the years the club has embraced more skilful players, not just the hard men, but one thing has stayed the same: Redcliffe people are loyal to their own. Chris Close #231 Many of Queenslands most iconic players and coaches passed through the club, including Barry Muir, Dick Tosser Turner, Bryan Niebling, Peter Leis, Adam Mogg, Daly Cherry-Evans, Wally Fullerton-Smith, Brent Tate, Petero Civoniceva and, of course, the late, great Arthur Beetson a man once described as the tribal elder of the Queensland State of Origin side. The Club, while now enjoying the financial benefits of the Leagues Club, can provide all the equipment and coaching aids for the betterment of all players. As a revenue raiser and from a social point of view, it met the criteria of its charter: To foster Rugby League and for its members to enjoy a convivial meeting place where a common bond may be enjoyed.. The BRL, as it turned out were right in their opposition to accepting the Club. But with stage two of Redcliffes new stadium set for completion later this year, Jones believes the club will have better facilities than many of the NRL sides. ? Willie Atkins #230. 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