Proserpine Rugby League Football Club

Club History

The Whitsunday Brahmans are the newest club competing in the eight-team Mackay competition but their history goes back to the 1920s.

Then playing as Proserpine, the Brahmans became founding fathers of the now-defunct Whitsunday Rugby League, playing against clubs from Bowen, Collinsville and in later years, Glenden.

With many footballers called to action during the Second World War, league struggled in the Whitsundays during those years and in 1942, Proserpine actually joined up with Collinsville to ensure the sport's survival on the local front.

During the 1950s, players and supporters would board 'excursion' trains and travel to the various centres - remember, this was a period when rail trips by steam were par for the course!

The biggest single factor in promoting league in the Whitsundays came in 1969 when the road linking Bowen on the coast and the coal mining town of Collinsville - became fully sealed.

That allowed players from all centres to converge on Bowen for representative training and thus paved the way for Whitsunday to participate in the prestigious Foley Shield.

In 1971, Proserpine's Les Stagg guided the Whitsunday representative side to their maiden Foley Shield grand final appearance.

The former NQ representative had carved out an impressive playing career in the bush, notably with Babinda, where 23 years earlier, he helped the town win the first-ever Foley Shield grand final.

Stagg's men finished the round-robin series in the Southern Zone tied with rivals Mackay on eight points and a play-off was needed at the Proserpine Sports Reserve to determine who would square off against Cairns in the championship decider.

Whitsunday overcame the Sea Eagles 13-10 - proving their 18-14 win against Mackay at Proserpine earlier in the year was no fluke.

In the final, though, Whitsunday was no match for Cairns, with the far northerners romping home 37-6 in a lopsided affair.

Whitsunday's halfback was the livewire Jimmy Hill, one of several Proserpine players on rep duty. A popular figure, Hill became a Proserpine legend and passed away in November 2005.

Stagg's determination for Foley Shield glory did not wane and two years later, he resurfaced with the Whitsunday side - this time as league chairman - when they contested a second grand final.

As usual, the Brahmans were major contributors to the side - headed by former Kangaroo Les Hanigan, a former Manly player who'd come north to become captain-coach of Proserpine that year.

Hailed as the best credentialled player to migrate to the tropics, Hanigan wasn't the only New South Welshmen lured to the Whitsundays and was joined by Gerry Coonan from Albion Park and fellow NSW Country rep Laurie Goldman, from the Camden Rams.

With that trio and the mercurial Jimmy Hill calling the shots at halfback, Whitsunday proved too strong for Innisfail in the Foley Shield decider and a 19-16 result gave the long-time battlers their first (and only) championship success at senior level.

Hill had played arguably the game of his life and his man of the match performance - earning him the coveted Hanush Blazer - is a talking point in the Whitsundays to this day.

In 1975, the Brahmans picked up the services of a deadly-accurate goal-kicker in the shape of Barry Preston.

From the Shellharbour club on the NSW south coast, Preston wasn't the only 'Cockroach' in Proserpine that year either, with John Ladmore coming north to take the reins as coach.

Ladmore's side went on to win the Whitsunday Rugby League's A-Grade premiership, with Proserpine later winning another seven grand finals in the space of only 10 years, starting in '77.

In 1979, another premiership-winning season, the Brahmans boasted an emerging talent in local boy Eddie Muller, a teenage hooker who represented North Queensland the following season.

After a brief spell with Brothers in Mackay, Muller returned to his hometown in 1982 when former Newtown and Cronulla player Steve Hansard became captain-coach of the Brahmans.

Hansard, who guided the Green Machine to a premiership victory, continued for a second season at the helm in '83.

By now, Muller's career prospects were looking up and in 1984, he represented Queensland against the touring Kiwis.

Some years later, a bout of food poisoning threatened to keep Greg Conescu out of the Queensland State of Origin side but the 'Turtle' recovered in time and Muller - placed on stand-by - missed out on winning what would have been his first Origin cap.

In 1985, the Whitsunday Rugby League expanded to five clubs - the Brahmans were joined by Bowen Brothers, Bowen Pirates, Collinsville and newcomers Glenden, another mining town team.

In '86, the Brahmans won another grand final and backed it up the following year under Lindsay McNeill but by then, Proserpine's league community was mourning the demise of its Whitsunday competition.

Sadly, just three clubs were capable of participating in A-Grade and the writing was well and truly on the wall for the WRL.

In 1989, after being in recess for 12 months, the Brahmans were one of four teams who contested the inaugural Burdekin-Whitsunday competition - joining Bowen Brothers, long-time rivals Collinsville and the Ayr-based Burdekin Roosters.

That same year, Muller, a former Canterbury player and now in the twilight of his playing career, was back in Proserpine and was doubling up as captain-coach of the Whitsunday side.

Muller seemed destined to get his wish of a Foley Shield grand final but in the semi-final at Innisfail, his Burdekin-Whitsunday side succumbed 24-22 to the locals in a thriller.

Whitsunday's rep side included Collinsville's Adrian Brunker, who would later become a State of Origin representative.

In 1990, the Brahmans lured Mackay star Raymond Gagai up the Bruce Highway from his home at Magpies. Gagai, a one-time player at the Broncos, was considered a major signing for the club.

The Brahmans were undefeated, culminating in a premiership victory to make amends for their loss to Collinsville the previous year.

In 1992, the Whitsundays got a taste of international football when its Foley Shield side entertained Papua New Guinea - gearing up for a one-off Test match - at the Proserpine Sports Reserve.

On the day of the game, around 200 millimetres of rain had fallen, transforming the ground into a mudheap, yet the match was well patronised, with the Kumuls winning 48-0.

That same year, former South Sydney and North Sydney forward Wayne Chisholm was captain-coach of the Brahmans.

With the collapse of the Burdekin-Whitsunday Rugby League at the end of 1993, the Brahmans finally entered the Mackay competition the following season and have been there ever since.

In 1995, local product Paul Bowman made his first-grade debut for the North Queensland Cowboys, with the quietly-spoken centre becoming captain of the Townsville-based NRL team.

Bowman also went on to play Origin football and was a key member of the Cowboys' historic grand final side in 2005.

In 2000, with Muller again as coach, the Brahmans had their best year ever in the Mackay competition when they qualified for the grand final - only to be beaten 23-12 by Sarina.

Despite moving to Cairns late in the season, Muller returned to the grand final stage in 2006 when he was in charge of the Brahmans' under-18s.

Despite being the only side to beat Southern Suburbs all season, the Sharks were too strong for the Green Machine, winning 36-14 as the Brahmans finished runners-up in the Eddie Roberts Cup.

Sources:

http://www.sportingpulse.com/club_info.cgi?c=0-2264-23781-0-0&sID=25057  retrieved 18 April 2009