105-Year-Old Rugby League Club Faces Extinction

From grassroots right up to the highest level it’s no secret that running a football club is expensive. The associated costs can see even the strongest on-field teams finances running on the fumes.

West End Rugby League Football Club, located in East Ipswich is no stranger to this fate.

With over 105 years of history, the Bulldogs are your classic example of a community football club. The heart and soul of the town’s fabric yet still heavily reliant on player fees, sponsorship and match-day income.

However, with numerous clubs in Ipswich to choose from for a potential player, the club has fallen upon hard times and will be forced to shut the gates to Daniels Park if $20,000 is not raised before season’s end.

President John Cochrane joined Dobbo on The Rush Hour to explain this historic Queensland club’s plight.

“The gap between our revenue and what our bills are increases exponentially…we’ve got less people coming out to watching local footy at any level so our opportunities to raise revenue on game day as just diminished” Cochrane told The Rush Hour.

 See the video below

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise the funds – Link below

https://www.gofundme.com/f/savewestend

Hear the full chat below 

 West End RLFC QLD representatives*

• Lex Stephens (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949)
• Kelly Brennan (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949)
• Des Creedy (1949)
• John Brown (1963 & 1965)
• Col Dwyer (1969)
• John White (1967, 1968)
• Dave Roderick (1972)

*As well as numerous junior QLD and Australian schoolboy representatives.

The Rush Hour with Dobbo returns weekdays on 104.5 Brisbane's Triple M