Queensland’s oldest Rugby League club, the Fortitude Valley Diehards, has thrown their support behind the development of Rugby League in Hong Kong.
On a visit to their base at The Grange in Brisbane by HKRL board member Brad Newman, the Diehards were only too keen to play their part in helping spread the word of Rugby League providing a donation of junior jerseys, which will be used by the Hong Kong Rugby League in their schools program.
Commenting on the donation, Brad was only too pleased to have a club with such a proud Rugby League history, helping spread the message into Asia.
“As a passionate Diehards supporter, I am delighted to see the great club support international rugby league expansion.”
“I am an English teacher in Hong Kong and teach at a local primary school in northern Hong Kong, a stone’s throw from the border with China. I look forward to using these jerseys at my school. Our school also has a significant number of cross border students from Mainland China. So there you go, Hong Kongers and Mainland Chinese will be playing forms of Rugby League. I think the amount of Rugby League lovers in the education system is a real opportunity for us over here. From teachers, to PE teachers, to heads of departments and even Principals.”
“On behalf of the HKRL I want to thank the Diehards. We are very proud and honoured to have such a famous club play its part in helping us develop Rugby League at all levels in Hong Kong. They are very generous. I want to personally thank Valleys President Danny Walker. Within seconds of hearing of our work in Hong Kong, he made a dash for the merchandise rack. He has even pledged further support in the future. That is old school, community style support.”
“If you ever visit Brisbane, I recommend going to a Diehards game at The Grange. It is a wonderful experience and great football.”
Formed in 1909, the highly successful Diehards club won 7 of the first 11 Premierships up for offer in the Brisbane Rugby League competition, and went on to secure 24 Premierships over their time at the highest level in Queensland Rugby League between 1909 and 1995. The Diehards were home to many famous names including Wally Lewis. This year the Diehards made a long overdue return to higher levels of football, entering the new BRL competition. The BRL brings back many famous names and acts as a feeder competition to the Queensland Cup.
It’s up and up for the Diehards and HKRL!
Brad co-founded the Diehards Heritage Project with Adam Russell and the late VFC great and club historian Gerry Fitzpatrick. The project has an aim to collect and publish the entire history of the Valleys Diehards and the BRL. Already the project has an impact with many trophies and photos discovered, copies of games going to former players and family history being unlocked.
