25/04/2026
Whilst some of the Mongrels still making their long treks home, itās an opportune time to reflect on the week that was at the 2026 QPSRLA State Championships. Before doing so, its worth noting that the Mongrels playing group and management team come from all across the State, from the Isa to Thursday Island, to Redcliffe and the Gold Coast, and in fact one former player and now manager travels each year from Broken Hill. Unlike other sides, where the basic principle is the player plays for the team where they currently work, given the Mt Isa Districts very low comparative staff numbers, the QPSRLA rules dictate that once a player has worked at and played for the Mt Isa Mongrels, if they so choose, they can continue to play for Mt Isa for as long as they wish to, regardless of where they live or work. Essentially, the players, coaches and managers continue to be Mongrels because they want to and are passionate about that fact. This year the split was about 2/3 Isa based, 1/3 no longer working in Mt Isa.
The results on the paddock were extremely positive this year, which might seem strange to say when the boys got beaten in the three games they played. However, from a coaches and management teamsā perspective, its unanimous that 2026 was the best footy the Mongrels have played since the return to the competition in 2012. Opening the competition with a 24-10 loss to the Wide Bay Whales (who go on to win the championship) followed by a very hard fought 20-10 loss to the host side, and long-time powerhouse, the South Eastern Muddies, finishing with a 22-12 loss to last yearās grand finalists, the Southern Boars. The Mongrels were more than competitive in every outing, and gave themselves a chance to win each of the games, all for a few things not falling their way, and just lacking that finishing polish to put a shine on the mountains of hard work the boys had done. The coaching and management staff could not have asked for anything more at all, and were and are extremely proud of every one of them.
But the effort on the paddock seems insignificant and irrelevant to the dedication, and generosity, off it. The Mt Isa Mongrels Police Rugby League side, both collectively and individually, has traditionally raised funds to complement valued sponsorship to put towards helping them get to the annual championships, held at a different location around the state each year. This year the Mongrels decided to do something different and commit to pre-Carnival fundraising with the money to go to a chosen charity. Individuals in the team ran activities such as money boards and raffles, and when all the efforts were combined, we able to donate $3150 to the Jack Beasley Foundation.
Add to that, on Monday this week the Jay Notaro QPS Dream Team played a game of Rugby league against the Arthur Beetson Foundation Future Immortals. After this game a match ball and player worn jerseys were put to auction , all of which were snapped up by the Mongrels players to the value of $2300, all funds going to the Arthur Beetson Foundation .
To top that all off, the Mongrels all agreed that should any of the boys who like a flutter, be lucky enough to have a bit of a win, a type of āMongrels fundraising taxā would be applied. The result of this was $500 going to the " 30 for Ollie" fundraiser for the RFDS. S/C Joel Davidson, of Mt Isa Dog squad, lost his 5 year old son to an infection in 2024, and now each year raises money for RFDS. This year the Davidson family was given their own Month to donate through the 30 For Ollie fundraising month.
In total, $6000 was raised by the Mt Isa Mongrels to go to these three very worthy causes.
The results on the field, and the fundraising efforts off it, really do demonstrate the positive culture within this team, which we hope to expand on and improve for our title at 2027.
Queensland Police Service Rugby League Mt Isa Isuzu UTE Jack Beasley Foundation
