More than 200 players from the Toowoomba region attended a successful Clydesdales development camp held in Gatton over the weekend.
Skill development, game development and team building exercises brought the best out of the players, who worked alongside 20 coaches from the region.
Age groups in attendance were U13, U14 and U15 development squads, Cyril Connell Cup U16s, Mal Meninga Cup U18s and the FOGS U20s.
“This will be a regular camp moving forward as the Clydesdales strive to re-enter the Intrust Super Cup,” Clydesdales Coaching director Chris McEwan said.
McEwan was working as a development officer for the region when the Clydesdales won the inaugural Queensland Cup in 1996.
In those years, the region had limited infrastructure and pathways available for the next generation of Clydesdales.
But with a renewed focus on its development program, the Toowoomba region now has a viable network to underpin a future Clydesdales team in Queensland’s Intrust Super Cup.
“The Toowoomba and Warwick region alone have about 1800 to 2000 junior players and this doesn’t take in the western region,” McEwan said.
“Moving forward we will be able to develop the future players in the region and give them a pathway to higher levels.”
Last weekend’s camp saw former Clydesdales player and 1996 grand final hooker Scott Kuhnemann working as head coach for the U14 development squad along with former Cowboy and Toowoomba representative player Steve Haywood.
