Broken Hill United Rugby League Football Club has returned from the Gold Coast Masters Competition with three wins and a draw – a big achievement when you consider the oldest team member is 73 and the average age of the players is 56.
The competition is a modified game focusing on enjoyment, and officially no scores are taken, “although every team does keep score,” says club member Jeff Hall.
Any team across Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Norfolk Island and even England can register to take part at the event, held at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast. The one entry rule – players must be aged 35 years and over.
The competition comes on the back of earlier carnivals attended by United – they competed in the South Queensland Masters Rugby League Carnival in both 2022 and 2023.
Later in 2023, 11 players from United Oldboys were selected in NSW teams to play against Queensland, with Mr Hall playing in and coaching the NSW Reds team.
In the Gold Coast Masters Competition, United’s oldest player was Ned Knight at 73 years of age, and there were six 37-year-olds in the 30-man squad.
The average age of the team is 56.4, “which means we have the oldest team in the competition on average,” says Mr Hall.
“We have formed great friendships through Masters Rugby League and the game keeps us in touch.
“All players have at some time in their lives lived and worked in Broken Hill, this year we had four generations of one family in the side – great grandfather, grandfather, nephew, and a grandson as ball boy,” Mr Hall told us.
Ben Franklyn, Junior Vice President, has represented the Club at three Masters Competitions.
He said that on this occasion, “players were dropping like flies leading right up to the event, with Jeff Hall moving the magnets around non stop on the bus trip up”.
Nevertheless, on game-day “bossman Jeff switches right on,” Mr Franklyn added, because “it’s still a game of rugby at the end of the day.”
The teams play under three tiers to reflect their varying skills and appetite for risk- those wearing white shorts, usually younger blokes, are prepared for full-body contact, and those wearing red shorts are prepared for grapple contact, which can still be relatively heavy.
Those wearing gold shorts are older players, or those who might be sporting an injury, and there is an “unwritten law that if the ball gets to them, they go on and score a try.”
“The game is played in really good spirit by all teams,” Mr Franklyn says.
In United’s four games, which were all played in the mornings, they won the first and second games three tries to two and came back in the third game to win four tries to two. The fourth game saw a tie.
Josh Long won Player of the Masters, known as the Jimmy Stick Award, and Simon Axtens on debut was named runner up, with Mr Franklyn coming third.
Juls Long was presented with her United life membership, becoming only the seventh female to receive the honour.
Mr Franklyn, a fellow life member, was also nominated and inducted as a Club Immortal.
“I was taken aback a bit when they presented it to me, because it means everything to me from those two blokes, Jeff and Harry Prescott,” he said.
“Just to be nominated brought a tear to my eye. I was lucky enough to be at the rooftop of the hotel with my sunnies on.”
Mr Franklyn, who has captained the team on several occasions, described the induction as, “probably the highlight of my sporting career”.
The Club Immortal says, “United is the best sporting organisation I have been involved with.
“Because we don’t have a big Rugby League competition here, running a Club takes a lot of effort and availability of players is often a challenge.
“The Broken Hill United Rugby League Oldboys have hundreds of members, and for young blokes to get amongst the likes of Mr Hall, Michael Thornberry, and Mr Prescott and to learn history of the club, it’s great.”
The Club is looking to play two Masters Competitions a year, so potentially a competition in South Australia, or a competition on the NSW Coast, where a number of United players now live.
Mr Hall thanked the club’s sponsors, Ezyprojects, The Demo Club, and Sutto’s Floor Coverings, for their continued support for United.
