Rugby league in western Queensland has received a major boost after the region's only team won its bid to rejoin the state's top competition after 13 years.
In a major announcement on Friday, Queensland Rugby League approved the Western Clydesdales' application to play in the Queensland Cup in 2023.
Formerly the Toowoomba Clydesdales, the team played in the Cup from 1996 until 2006 when 'structural issues' forced them to withdraw from the professional level and just run underage teams.
The team made a brief comeback in 2009 but it didn't last.
The current Clydesdales board revived the bid in the wake of the COVID pandemic hitting in 2020 and has worked to develop a sustainable business plan and club structures.
The big news follows a three-year agreement signed in March between the Clydesdales and NRL club Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs hope to build a bigger following in Queensland and unearth future stars like Steve Price and Johnathan Thurston, who made the move from Toowoomba to Belmore with great success.
The Clydesdales will now ramp up preparations for the 2023 Queensland Cup season, announcing a head coach and players over the coming months.
Western Clydesdales chairman Tony Coonan said all the hard work from numerous people had paid off.
"You get worn out, and there's still lots of hard work to come, but when you actually know that you're there, you've got the energy to keep going," Coonan said.
The former Quilpie Magpies player said the club's name change paired perfectly with its change of direction.
"We wanted to embrace the whole region," Coonan said.
"What we're all about is the decentralisation of rugby league. So that you can be in regional areas ... spread all over Queensland [and] you have got a pathway at a really, really high level.
"All of this is about young players - male, female - and creating pathways from our juniors into our seniors into this Western Clydesdale system.
"Success in the western clydesdales system leads to NRL real dreams."
From 2023, the Clydesdales will field teams through the male age groups in the under 16s, under 18s, under 21s and now opens to complete the elite player pathway, along with an under 19 women's squad.
The Clydesdales have worked closely with QRL over the past 18 months to put in place the administrative, development and commercial structures needed to support a Cup club.
QRL statewide competitions director Darryl Van de Velde said the Clydesdales' entry was aligned with recommendations from the 2021 QRL statewide competitions review which identified the south west area as a priority for expansion.
"With 7000 playing participants, the Clydesdales have an impressive footprint which extends across 11 junior and senior local league competitions," Van de Velde said.
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