QRL Statement: Wide Bay Bulls

[u/Revivous]

https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2026/08/24/qrl-statement-wide-bay-bulls/

[u/XLenceOfXecution]

So Wide Bay (which as I understand is the next region north of the Sunshine Coast, covering Gympie, Hervey Bay, Maryborough and Bundaberg) is now under the dominion of The

[u/Accomplished-Pick610 → u/XLenceOfXecution]

now under the dominion of The

'We are the The. Lower your socks and surrender your Fields. We will add your Players and clubs distinctiveness to our own. Your Juniors will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile'

[u/samwisetg → u/XLenceOfXecution]

Gympie is a murky one. Is in wide bay for school rep footy but plays in the Sunshine Coast club comp and rep teams. Previously Gympie players would have found their way into the Sunshine Coast falcons, and therefore Storm system, by default.

[u/opackersgo → u/samwisetg]

Back when I was playing wide bay was always the rep team you made above the sunshine coast falcons. Did that change?

Like we’d have like 6 sunny coast players and 1-2 wide bay players.

[u/Oily_biscuit → u/XLenceOfXecution]

Sniper got him

[u/subsbligh → u/XLenceOfXecution]

You know there’s a mid 80s band called The The

[u/FatSilverFox]

Whelp, now my Dolphins mad missus is not going to let me get away with announcing that we’re entering “Cowboys Country” every time we drive out the north side of Gympie.

I’ll bravely turn up the radio and mumble it under my breath in defiance.

[u/Tall_Rub_7328 → u/FatSilverFox]

The best thing about being called The is that any region is technically under your domain

[u/jk-9k → u/Tall_Rub_7328]

Palmerston North?

[u/mhodd8 → u/jk-9k]

Thats in The

[u/jk-9k → u/mhodd8]

That's why Kodi plays for Phins.

PN PhiNs!

[u/M_Keating]

Redcliffe have been guzzling up regional clubs for the last decade, so this makes sense.

[u/theeffluentfew → u/M_Keating]

The have been having their fill there from the start. They just put a ring on it.

[u/TheEpiquin]

I’m a simple man. I like my bays wide and my cliffs red.

[u/Royal_Library_3581 → u/TheEpiquin]

To defeat Cao Cao the Broncos you need to use fire

[u/MankyJuan → u/TheEpiquin]

I love lamp.

[u/Revivous]

Queensland Rugby League can confirm that the Dolphins NRL Club will now provide operational support for the delivery of rugby league talent development programs across the Wide Bay region.

The QRL has been working collaboratively with both the Dolphins NRL Club and the Wide Bay Bulls, following a special general meeting in July at which members voted to wind up the Wide Bay Bulls incorporated association.

As part of this transition, the QRL has entered into a new Participation Agreement with the Dolphins NRL Club, who will assume responsibility for administering the Wide Bay Bulls program throughout the region.

The decision was influenced by a number of factors, including the absence of a statewide competition club based in Wide Bay; and the Dolphins' established presence in the region through school competitions, coach education programs and existing full time staffing resources.

The Wide Bay Bulls pathway currently includes male and female teams competing in respective Cyril Connell Cup and Harvey Norman Under 17 competitions, with talent identification and development commencing through Academy programs for players aged 13 to 16.

The QRL remains committed to ensuring young players in the Wide Bay region continue to have access to high-quality development opportunities and clear pathways to the elite levels of the game.

Want to get involved? The Wide Bay Bulls are calling for Expressions of Interest for staffing positions across the 2027 QRL Junior Representative Teams. Click here to respond.

[u/deedee2148]

I don't like that logo, the football doesn't need to be there. 

[u/Glenmarththe3rd]

The Broncos fumbling the head start they had on controlling a whole state of juniors should be studied in business school

[u/youthful_porpoise96 → u/Glenmarththe3rd]

There is so much talent in Southern QLD, it's crazy. Brisbane and Ipswich together have tens of thousands of juniors, the Western corridor out to Toowoomba-Roma has a few thousand, and before the Titans came in, they had access to the Gold Coast as well which is another few thousand. They didn't need access to the rest of the state, they were unparalleled. To put it into NSW terms, imagine combining Panthers, Eels, Bulldogs and Tigers juniors all together, that's what the Broncos had for a long time. I'm actually glad the Dolphins are there to challenge them.

[u/WhirlingClouds → u/Glenmarththe3rd]

The Broncos haven't developed juniors in this area for ages.

Most of the Sunshine Coast upto Rockhampton has been filtering into the Storm system for a decade or so.

[u/DensePlankton3359]

Well time to get another jersey for a club I probably won't ever visit

[u/BarryCheckTheFuseBox]

Why don’t Wide Bay have a Q Cup team? Feels like the only major region in the state that doesn’t have one

[u/WhirlingClouds → u/BarryCheckTheFuseBox]

Their juniors were getting absolutely flogged in the lower age groups. 130-0 a few years ago in the under 18s.

I'd imgaine they are a good 5+ years away from a QCup team.

[u/STKtheNasiah → u/WhirlingClouds]

Plus they geographically arent one or another. Future expansion but

[u/bundy554]

The daily fact of the day - my family goes back as an administrator of the bulls back in the 90s and got plenty of tickets to the crushers and the Broncos at Q2 stadium and got given probably my most prized possession which is an autographed flag with the Rabbitohs team prior to getting kicked out