The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in 2007, alongside the Northern Pride, and first competed in the 2008 season.[1]
Since 2008, the club has appeared in two finals series, winning the Grand Final in 2013.[2] The team's management headquarters and home ground, Stadium Mackay, currently known as BB Print Stadium due to sponsorship rights, is located in the suburb of South Mackay.
Prior to the Cutters entry into the Queensland Cup in 2008, Mackay rugby league's only representation in the statewide competition was the Mackay Sea Eagles, who played in the inaugural season in 1996 before withdrawing from the competition. In September 2007, the Mackay Cutters and Northern Pride were granted provisional entry into the Queensland Cup for the 2008 season.[3] On 7 December 2007, their entry into the competition was confirmed by the Queensland Rugby League.[4]
The Cutters endured a rough two first seasons under Muspratt, finishing 9th in 2008 and last in 2009. The Cutters first ever game was a 16–44 loss to rivals the Northern Pride. Their first ever win came in Round 5, when they defeated the Redcliffe Dolphins 24–22 at Dolphin Oval.[9] The 2009 season started strongly with three straight wins before a run of nine straight losses sunk them to the bottom of the table. They finished with the wooden spoon due to points differential.[10]
Bramley left the Cutters at the end of the 2010 season to join the Burleigh Bears and was replaced by Anthony Seibold, who led the South Wales Scorpions to promotion a year earlier. Former Cowboys and New Zealand Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli also joined the club permanently from the Cowboys and was named captain for the 2011 season.[13] Also in 2011, after playing out of local junior rugby league grounds for three seasons, the Cutters moved to the newly built 12,200 seat Stadium Mackay. The first game at the new stadium was a 14–16 loss to the Easts Tigers in Round 20 of the 2011 season.[14]
Under Seibold, the Cutters missed the finals in both 2011 and 2012, with Seibold leaving to coach the Melbourne Stormunder-20 side in 2013.[15]
In 2013, Kim Williams, a former Melbourne StormSG Ball Cup coach, joined the club and led the Cutters' to their most successful season despite a number of difficult setbacks. On 28 April 2013, just hours after a 22–22 draw with the Tweed Heads Seagulls, Cowboys-contracted hooker Alex Elisala was found unconscious and not breathing after jumping from a hotel balcony. He died in hospital the following day.[16] In honour of Elisala, the Cutters retired his number 14 jersey for the rest of the season.[17] Despite the tragedy, the Cutters pushed forward and finished the season in second on the ladder.[18] In Week 1 of the finals, they suffered a 18–31 loss to the Easts Tigers before bouncing back to defeat the Ipswich Jets and Northern Pride to qualify for their first Grand Final and set up a rematch with Easts.[19]
The Cutters could not defend their premiership in 2014, losing six of their Grand Final winning side to NRL clubs and finishing in ninth place.[21] In 2015, Williams final year as head coach, the club missed the finals once again, finishing in eighth. Following the 2015 season, Williams became the head coach of the Central Queensland Capras.[22]
2016 proved to be a disastrous year for the Cutters, as they finished the season with their second wooden spoon. On 23 June 2016, new head coach David Simpson left the club after 14 games, in which the club won just one game. He was replaced by Jim Wilson, who served as interim head coach for the rest of the season.[23][24] Despite the poor year, Cowboys-contracted hooker Josh Chudleigh became the first Cutters player to win the Courier Mail Medal for Queensland Cup Player of the Year and was named at hooker in the 2016 Team of the Year.[25]
On 8 August 2016, North Queensland Cowboysunder-20s assistant coach Steve Sheppard, was appointed as head coach of the Cutters on a two-year deal.[26] During Sheppard's three seasons at the helm, the club failed to make the finals, finishing 8th in 2017, last in 2018 and 11th in 2019.[27] On 30 August 2019, the club announced that Sheppard would leave the club at the end of the 2019 season.[28]
In August 2021, Crawley announced his departure from the club after two years, joining the Canberra Raiders, with Townsville Blackhawks U21s head coach Dave Elliott named as his replacement.[30]
On 2 November 2007, the Daily Mercury unveiled the Cutters logo after holding a promotion inviting people to submit designs for the club's first crest. The winning design was submitted by Ashley Hanson of Townsville and was selected by Cutters' management from over 50 submissions.[32]
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
Grant Rovelli is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. From 2006 to 2010 he played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the New Zealand Warriors and the North Queensland Cowboys. He is of Italian descent and has represented Italy's national rugby league team. His usual position is halfback.
Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club is a semi-professional Queensland rugby league club based in Cairns. Founded in 2007 they represent Far North Queensland, and compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Queensland Cup.
Samuel Hoare is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. Primarily a prop, he previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys.
The 2008 Queensland Cup season was the 13th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Queensland Wizard Cup due to sponsorship from Wizard Home Loans featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
The 2012 Queensland Cup season was the 17th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 12 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
2012 was the fifth competitive season for the Cairns based Skill360 Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 12 clubs that played in the seventeenth season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Intrust Super Cup, with each team playing 11 home games and 11 away games over 26 weeks between March and September. In 2012 the Central Comets were renamed the CQ Capras.
2013 was the sixth competitive season for the Cairns based Skill360 Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 12 clubs that played in the eighteenth season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Intrust Super Cup, with each team playing 11 home games and 11 away games over 24 weeks between March and August.
2008 was the first competitive season for the Cairns based CRGT Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 11 clubs that played in the thirteenth season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Wizard Queensland Cup.
The 2013 Queensland Cup season was the 18th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 12 teams playing a 26-week long season from March to September.
Alex Elisala was a Samoa international rugby league footballer who was contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys at the time of his death. He primarily played as a hooker.
The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in September 2014, first competing in the 2015 season. The side plays their home games at Jack Manski Oval.
2016 was the ninth competitive season for the Cairns based Sea Swift Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 14 clubs that played in the twenty-first season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Intrust Super Cup, with each team playing 12 home games and 11 away games over 25 weeks between March and August.
Reuben Cotter is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays primarily as a lock or prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
The 2011 Mackay Cutters season was the fourth in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Seibold and captained by Grant Rovelli, they competed in the QRL's Intrust Super Cup. The club missed the finals in 2011, finishing the season in ninth.
The 2012 Mackay Cutters season was the fifth in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Seibold and captained by Grant Rovelli, they competed in the QRL's Intrust Super Cup. The club missed the finals for the second consecutive season, finishing eighth.
The 2013 Mackay Cutters season was the sixth in the club's history. Coached by Kim Williams and captained by Jardine Bobongie and Joel Clinton, they competed in the QRL's Intrust Super Cup. The club enjoyed their most successful season, finishing the regular season in second place and defeating the Easts Tigers 27–20 in the Grand Final to win their first premiership.
The 2015 Mackay Cutters season was the eighth in the club's history. Coached by Kim Williams and captained by Chris Gesch and Liam Taylor, they competed in the QRL's Intrust Super Cup. The club missed the finals for the second consecutive season, finishing 8th.
Ben Condon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The North Queensland Cowboys Women is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier women's rugby league competition, the NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW).
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