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11 July, 2023

Thousands to travel to regional Queensland to enjoy ‘Activate Queensland! Country Week’

More than 10,000 local rugby league fans will get the chance to see their heroes play in seven regional centres across the Sunshine State for 2023’s ‘Activate Queensland! Country Week’, with teams travelling over 6,250km from their home bases to play Round 18 Hostplus Cup matches.

The weekend of July 15/16 will see Weipa welcome the Northern Pride and Sunshine Coast Falcons, with Wondai receiving its first taste of Cup action by welcoming the Norths Devils and Wynnum Manly Seagulls, while Proserpine, Stanthorpe, Biloela, Miles, and Kilcoy also play host to matches.

“It’s a great leveller for our players and our competition as it reminds everyone how tough it is for some of these communities who have to travel four or five hours to play a game of rugby league and the conditions they often play under,” competitions manager, QRL, Dave Maiden, said.

“Stage and Screen plays a pivotal role in the week-to-week running of our competitions.

Without the reliability and assurance of service from our valued travel partner, QRL state-wide competition fixtures wouldn’t run as smoothly.”

Such is the complexities of moving more than 500 people around the state in one weekend, a charter had to be sourced for the Cairns to Weipa to Cairns leg for Sunshine Coast Falcons v Northern Pride, something that Northern Pride CEO Garreth Smith was particularly proud of.

“The Kenfrost Homes Northern Pride represent one of the largest geographical footprints in the competition and we’re very proud to be playing the game against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Country Round this year,” Smith, said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to go deep into our footprint and provide the remote communities with visibility of this level of rugby league.

“I know the communities and local businesses have been very motivated by the event and have generated a lot of excitement through the local schools, clubs, and different community businesses and organisations.

We’re very appreciative and excited about flying to Weipa this year.”

General manager of the iconic sport and entertainment travel company Stage and Screen, Adam Moon, said it was humbling to provide travel services for such a standout on the QRL calendar.

“We’re extremely proud to have had a 12-year partnership with QRL and to work hand-in-hand with the governing body to deliver Round 18 to seven regional centres around Queensland is something really quite special,” Mr Moon said.

“We run our business in a very different way to other mainstream corporate companies. We consider ourselves to be genuine partners with our customers – not just their travel managers. We thrive on making the impossible possible and sourcing a charter flight is the sort of thing our team lives for.”

Activate Queensland! Country Week – July 15/16 – Hostplus Cup Round 18

Biloela: Ipswich Jets v Central Queensland Capras
Kilcoy: Brisbane Tigers v Tweed Seagulls
Miles: Redcliffe Dolphins v Burleigh Bears
Proserpine: Souths Logan Magpies v Mackay Cutters
Weipa: Sunshine Coast Falcons v Northern Pride
Wondai: Norths Devils v Wynnum Manly Seagulls
Stanthorpe: Townsville Blackhawks v Western Clydesdales
Bye: Papua New Guinea Hunters.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Activate Queensland! Country Week Adam Moon Dave Maiden Garreth Smith Queensland Rugby League