FEATURED COMMUNITY SPORTS CLUB FOR NOVEMBER 14. ROMA CITIES RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB (The Gladiators). Since 1912 one of the main constants for country Queenslands regional centre of Roma has been the Cities Rugby League Club, which actually began life playing the Rugby Union code as City Football Club, winning the premiership in each of their first two seasons (1912 and 1913). It seems that the 1914 Rugby Union season in Roma got a start but faltered and then the Great War intervened until a limited return to football by Clubs playing the new Rugby League code in 1917. Cities returned to competition in 1918 playing the new code and after taking a season to find their feet proceeded to take the 1919 and 1920 premierships. Rugby Union didnt regain its momentum post war until the 1920s providing League with an advantage that would be retained in Queensland and New South Wales essentially until the present. Despite being formed in 1912 the Club has been celebrating its centenary during 2014. We are assured that this in no way suggests any lack of mathematical acumen on the part of current administrators but simply a desire to make sure everything was in place to do it justice. An excellent 15 minute documentary, A Century of Gladiators, tracking the entire history of the club from Roma in Western Queensland has been produced by Lonnie Gilroy and made available on YouTube at ... youtube/watch?v=HrcdUG80sTM&feature=youtu.be A 100 page book, A Story of Gladiators, has also been published recently by Brian Gilroy. It outlines the clubs life on a year-to-year basis with an impressive collection of photographs and newspaper clippings adding to its vivid presentation. Queries about purchasing copies of this excellent resource should be directed to Brian Gilroy (briangilroy58@gmail). - The following excerpt has been lifted straight from the books introduction. Cities Rugby League Football Club in Roma Queensland is one of the oldest and best known sporting clubs in country Queensland. With over twenty First Grade premierships in its trophy cabinet, along with numerous Reserve Grade and under age trophies Cities is the most successful club in the history of football in Roma. In all grades, Cities’ teams have taken the silverware on no less than 77 occasions. Many good and some great players have worn the club’s colours. The most famous of all Cities’ players are Arthur Beetson, Darren Lockyer and Wally Fullerton-Smith, who all left Roma to go on to represent Queensland and Australia. Arthur and Darren have been recognised as two of the best players of all time. The club can be justifiably proud of the fact that Cities have produced two of the twelve Queensland State of Origin captains. The history of Cities football stretches back just over 100 years to the first team of 1912. Much of the club’s history has been lost with the passing of time. Records from the early years are a somewhat sparse, so by its nature this history is a piecing together as best as possible from what fragments and snippets of history remain. The Western Star, which has reported on events in and around Roma since 1875, has been an invaluable resource and much of the history of the district as well and Cities is preserved in the pages of the local newspaper. The history of Roma football tells a story of sporadic burst of activity interspersed with some down times. It tells of clubs forming and dissolving, to be replaced by other clubs. Many clubs have fallen along the way. Clubs such as Boomerangs, CYMS, Suburbs, Brothers, Commercials, Ramblers, Wallaroos, Railways, All Blacks and Wallabies have had a brief presence. Even Cities had some time in the “wilderness” and did not field teams from 1930 through to 1936 and could have easily joined the list of clubs whose flame burned for a time, but are now only a distant memory. For many reasons, Cities has shown great resilience and has outlived them all to be still alive and thriving in 2014. The club engenders great loyalty from its players and supporters and this is one of the reasons for its long life when others have fallen by the wayside. Even Cities’ great adversary for over seventy years, Wattles, has not been able to live on into the twenty-first century. ... - More about the book was published by The Chronicle 2 Oct 14 at ... thechronicle.au/news/cities-rugby-league-history-comes-to-life-in-new-b/2407168 The Club has two public Facebook groups to keep members and supporters involved and informed about day-to-day activities as follows ... General - https://facebook/groups/12479151476 Photo Album - https://facebook/groups/846042738746639
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 10:05:14 +0000