IN THE DOMAIN OF MOUNTAIN KINGS

"Bumper" Dwyer profiles the Tumbarumba R.L.F.C., and finds a little town with a very big Rugby League heart.

[Article donated by the author. Original version written in early 1998 following the reunification conference between the ARL and Super League. First published in 1998 in the Tumut and Adelong Times, the Tumbarumba Times and Loosehead magazine in 1998. ]

We've all talked to people in the last couple of years who say that they've given up on Rugby League, despite the reunification of last December. The corporate greed and treachery, plus the looming threat of abolition or mergers of traditional heartland clubs, seem to have demoralised them and drained their enthusiasm for what the late "Jersey" Flegg called "The Greatest Game of All". There is an antidote to this battle-weariness; reading this account of the Tumbarumba story, or better still a visit to a "Tumba" home game should re-ignite the flagging interest of even the most jaded of Rugby League cynics.

The town of Tumbarumba is beautifully situated in the western foothills of the Snowy Mountains, about seventy kilometres south of Tumut. The town population is about 2000, and the local government area nearly double that figure. The major industries are timber processing, forestry, beef cattle, viticulture and specialist horticulture - and the main recreational interest is most definitely Rugby League football!

The Tumbarumba Greens play in the Group Nine competition in the Riverina Division of the Country Rugby League of N.S.W. Group Nine is generally regarded as one of the strongest country competitions, and has been an ongoing production line of Australian representatives and Sydney first-graders since the earliest days of the code. Since 1992, the fourteen participating clubs have been Adelong-Batlow, Albury, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Harden-Murrumburrah, Junee, Temora, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Turvey Park, Wagga Brothers, Wagga Kangaroos, Wagga Magpies and Young. Tumbarumba is the smallest town in the whole competition, and on any casual observation, likely to be the most disadvantaged in terms of playing strength and finance.

Rugby League started in Tumbarumba in 1921, and old-timers have a host of tales of flooded roads, snow-bound grounds, savage winters and fiery local derbies with the likes of Batlow and Adelong. To this day, Tumbarumba-Batlow "needle" games compare with Wigan-St.Helens and Souths-St.George encounters for tribal ferocity. Tumbarumba teams proudly turn out in a traditional Bottle Green strip that happily has withstood any outlandish marketing innovations.

Up until the middle 1960's, Tumbarumba played in the Group 20 competition, along with the three Wagga clubs, Junee, Griffith, Leeton and Narrandera. Group Nine in those days was based on the clubs who had formed the nucleus of the legendary Maher Cup competition. Due to continued dissatisfaction with the group boundaries as decreed by the Country Rugby League, Tumbarumba, along with several other clubs, joined the rebel Murrumbidgee Rugby League that existed from 1966 to 1970. Following the resolution of this split in Riverina Rugby League, Tumbarumba joined Group 13 in 1971, a competition comprising the smaller League centres south of Wagga. The Greens enjoyed considerable success in this Group between 1971 and 1991, winning several premierships and capturing the Clayton Cup, awarded to the team with the best record in the entire Country Rugby League empire, for two years running.

The economic and population decline of several of the smaller Group 13 clubs made this competition increasingly non-viable, and in 1992 the remaining Group 13 clubs joined Group Nine. Expectations that Tumbarumba, with its small population and limited revenue-raising base, would struggle overlooked the energetic administrators and solid community backing that this feisty mountain club has. The Greens made a fifth-place playoff in their initial season in the amalgamated competition, but foundered in the following three years - collecting the dreaded wooden-spoon in 1995. A reform group of ex-players, headed up by live-wire businessman and current President Dennis Burgun, set about revitalising the club, and embarked on a revolutionary recovery plan that was to bring fantastic dividends.

A chance encounter between several Tumbarumba committee members and a "mystery Kiwi" at a State of Origin match in mid-1995 led to an amazing chain of events. It transpired that the Kiwi, Jason Carr, had useful contacts in Fijian Rugby League and Rugby Union circles, and two Fijian recruits subsequently joined the club for the remainder of the 1995 season. Although the Greens still ran last, their playing performances improved dramatically and the club's morale lifted. Burgun and his dedicated team of doers were sold on the idea of taking this Fijian connection further.

Jason Carr took over as manager of the club's unofficial headquarters, the Tumbarumba Hotel, and more Fijian signings arrived for the 1996 season. This was to be very much a turn-around year - Tumbarumba went on to make the Group Nine finals, only for a bad run of late-season injuries to derail their premiership charge. In the off-season, two of the Fijians accepted offers from Tom Raudonikis and the Western Suburbs Magpies, but more of their compatriots were soon winging across the Pacific to their new home on the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains. 1997 was shaping up as a remarkable year.

Before proceeding with the events of 1997, it is worth noting some of the previous coaches and players who have contributed to the marvellous Rugby League heritage of this town. Don Furner, a proud graduate of Duncan Thompson's Rugby League "University" in Toowoomba, captain-coached Tumbarumba from 1960-1963, winning one Group 20 premiership and making the Grand Final on two other occasions. Furner later coached Eastern Suburbs and the Canberra Raiders, and most notably the undefeated 1986 Kangaroos. He recalls the camaraderie of his team-mates and the fanatical support of the whole town; as he says, "visiting teams were petrified of coming to the Tumbarumba Showground - the crowd atmosphere was not exactly welcoming and the cold even less so"!

Manly-Warringah icon Freddy Jones was captain-coach in 1964, and made the Country Seconds representative team that year. Jones says his year at Tumbarumba was a key factor in his later successes, captaining Manly to two premierships and making the Australian World Cup team in 1968 - "my year at "Tumba" gave me greater self-confidence, both in my own play and in my ability to provide leadership on the field."

Great Britain international and Canterbury forward Roger Pearman was captain and coach in 1969 - in stark contrast to the stereotype of English Rugby League players, Pearman is remembered by Dennis Burgun for his uncompromising approach to physical fitness and sensible dietary habits. Ex-Newtown Bluebags half Paul Sharpe led the Greens in 1974, and reputedly scored seven tries in one Group 13 competition match! Ned Kelly look-alike Les Cleal, the awesome Noel's older brother, had spectacular success with the club, leading "Tumba" to two undefeated premierships in 1985-86, and winning the Clayton Cup in both years. Stylish ex-Norths centre Nigel Tait had a productive captain-coaching stint in the early 1990's.

The name most synonymous with Rugby League in Tumbarumba is that of the famous Goldspink clan - several generations have served the Greens with distinction, none more than Kevin Goldspink, who won selection with the 1967-68 Kangaroos from the Canterbury-Bankstown club. A youthful Bob Smithies, later on the fullback in the Balmain Tigers premiership-winning team of 1969, also played with Tumbarumba in the mid-1960's.

The level of community involvement in raising funds for the Greens is both astonishing and heart-warming. It's a case of "all hands to the pumps" and getting stuck in, in the traditional, no-nonsense country style. Some of the fund-raising methods would have little relevance to the mean streets of inner-Sydney! As Dennis Burgun explains: "We have certain money-making opportunities here specific to our locality. For example, squads of players and supporters take on hay-carting contracts, raising in excess of $10,000 in a few days; loads of cut timber are raffled in the main street, a sure-fire money-spinner in a cold climate". Other ventures include an elite supporters club, an array of raffles and social functions, gate-takings at home games, along with contributions from generous sponsors like the Tumbarumba Hotel and the Bowling Club. In fact, the entire community appears to be mobilised behind the Rugby League club - they see it as the town's flagship, and the focus of town and community pride. It certainly makes a pleasant change from the defeatism and negativism that can be encountered in many Rugby League quarters in larger towns and cities.

Back to our narrative and 1997: The Tumbarumba Green Machine began the season somewhat indifferently, winning only four of their first nine competition games, including three consecutive losses in rounds 7-9. However, once they turned the corner, they did so in style - nine straight wins into the semi-finals, followed by smashing victories over Junee and Brothers in the qualifying finals to claim a place in their first-ever Group Nine premiership decider.

Their ultimate opponents, the Harden-Murrumburrah Hawks, had lost out to Adelong-Batlow in 1996, and the feeling was that despite Tumbarumba's magnificent run into the Grand Final, Harden's finals experience would be decisive. The packed Eric Weissel Oval (Wagga) crowd certainly saw a Grand Final to remember, probably one of the best in Group Nine history. "Tumba" had the early ascendancy, but Harden recovered twice for a full-time scoreline of 22-all. Extra time was gut-wrenchingly intense, but the Greens' fitness, pace and four magnificent Fijians saw them home by 28-22. Against all the odds and vastly outspent by all their opponents, the smallest town in the competition had won their first ever Group Nine premiership!

Judging by the sea of green-clad supporters at the Eric Weissel Oval, the town of Tumbarumba must have been totally deserted on Grand Final day, 1997. By all accounts, celebrations raged in the town for days, and the victory has now become part of the district's folklore. Given the contribution by the four splendid Fijians throughout the whole season, it's hard to imagine a more worthwhile investment by Dennis Burgun and his hard-working committee members.

If you are looking for some way to rekindle your enthusiasm and optimism for the thirteen-a-side game after the agonies of the past three years, my advice is to take a trip to this remarkable Rugby League town. A home game at the Tumbarumba Showground is truly an event to remember - a tremendous home-crowd atmosphere, amazing knockabout characters, top-quality Rugby League, bracing winter weather, superb mountain scenery and genuine country hospitality. Go and recharge your Rugby League batteries, and see how inspiring our game (and the communities like Tumbarumba that so whole-heartedly support their local clubs) can really be!

Glen "Bumper" Dwyer is a Director with the Newtown Jets RLFC in the NSWRL Premier League competition, and is a great admirer of all of the people who work so hard for the cause of Rugby League throughout the country areas of N.S.W. and Queensland.

© Glen Dwyer - 1998.