[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]by Sean Fagan of RL1908.com[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"A champion team must be almost obsessed with teamwork. Individual brilliance is expendable."[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Contract football is flowing football. It has no relation to bash and barge stuff. It is what Rugby League is all about - or is supposed to be."[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The player does not die with the ball. It moves on and on. Ideally no ball carrier is so smothered that he must play the ball."[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Duncan Thompson,
Toowoomba Clydesdales[/font]
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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They revolutionised how the game was played.
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This team was the mighty Toowoomba Clydesdales.
The Light Blues. 1924 to '25.[/font]
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From the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane. An inland city of 30,000 inhabitants. "Where they breed them big." [/font]
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A skyrocket team. Tom Gorman, Herb Steinohrt, Duncan Thompson, Vic Armbruster, Dan Dempsey, Mick Madsen, Edwin Brown, Bill Spencer, Jim Bennett. [/font]
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Their dynasty began with a match against Jonty Parkin's English tourists.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is Wednesday 18 June 1924...[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The cream of English footballers will cross swords with Toowoomba.
"Yes, we have heard something of Toowoomba. We are told that your boys are cracks of the 13 aside game - we realise that we will have to put our best foot forward when we meet them."[/font]
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The streets of the city were crowded from 11.30 onwards, and from that hour there was a continuous stream of people up to the Athletic Oval. Never in its history has the railway station presented such a busy appearance.[/font]
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The special trains kept arriving. There were 450 passengers on the Wallangarra train, 500 on the Killarney, 500 on the Chinchilla, the two specials from Pittsworth and Clifton were packed. They came from below the Range, as well as from all the intervening centres. The 'sweeper' from Brisbane was overflowing when it arrived, it left practically empty. Hundreds also came by motor cars, sulkies, and motor cycles.[/font]
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Admission tickets were sold at the railway station, and Duncan Thompson's sports store. But even sellers with large quantities were quickly sold out. Cars lined the streets, for a 100 yards, some were even left within the Park.[/font]
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The biggest crowd ever seen at a Toowoomba sports fixture. The stand is full to overflowing, still hours before the big game is to start. The side lines and the spaces at both ends of the arena are packed with crowded masses of spectators. More than 10,000. The late arrivals could obtain only a very poor view of the game. [/font]
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Inspector McNamara and Senior Sergeant Hawkes could not have been bettered - their expert supervision of the ground and the lines of traffic was splendid.[/font]
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A strong westerly was blowing, the belt of shade trees on the Mary-street side broke the force of the wind. In most respects, the day was ideal for football. The sun shone. Late afternoon winter light. [/font]
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Boys with football programmes were literally rushed, and did a roaring business. [/font]
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ENGLAND (colour, white): Full back, J. Sullivan; three-quarters, C.Carr, C. Pollard, S. Evans, T. Howley; five-eighth, S. Whitty; half back W. Mooney; forwards, F. Gallagher, J. Thompson, W.Cunliffe, H. Bowman, R.Sloman, D. Rees.[/font]
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TOOWOOMBA (colour, light blue): Full back, M. Ryan; three-quarters, W. Spencer, T. Gorman, J. Cuneen, J. Lindsay; five-eighth, C. Thompson; half back, D.F. Thompson; forwards, C. Broadfoot, V. Armbruster, H. Leibke, J. Bennett, J. Dempsey, H. Steinohrt. [/font]
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Tommy Gorman won the toss. [/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Queensland Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, set the ball rolling at 3.33pm. He didn't send it "far enough." [/font]
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A scrum was set at half-way. Dempsey heeled to Australia's wizard half; away went Duncan Thompson at his top. Sent to Colin Thompson who cut in nicely, before giving it to Gorman. Tom sidled past two opponents, he could have scored. Unselfishly, he gave to Bill Spencer, who went over. Duncan Thompson goaled. Toowoomba 5 points to nil.[/font]
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England's Cunliffe looked like scoring, he knocked on. Howley brought off a fine intercept, and went far before he was brought down. Toowoomba were on the defensive, but the English could not hold the ball.
Poor 'John Bull.'[/font]
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The second try to the local side came just as suddenly as the first. Spencer, receiving near half, brushed off Carr, Cunliffe and Sullivan, and touched down under the posts. Toowoomba 10 points to nil. [/font]
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Ten points in eight minutes was some going, but the Englishmen never lost heart. [/font]
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Sullivan sent in a fine line kick which gained 40 yards for his side. The visitors kept pegging away, and eventually the ball came to Sullivan, who in-passed to Evans, to Pollard, who went over. Sullivan failed at goal. Toowoomba 10 points to 3. [/font]
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Duncan Thompson, receiving from a scrum close to the England line, sent to his brother Colin, to Gorman, who could have scored again, but sent to Spencer who went over a third time. Duncan Thompson raised the flags - Toowoomba 15 to 3. [/font]
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The open, fast play of the Toowoomba backs had the tremendous crowd upon their feet time after time with their flashes of brilliance. From a free, Sullivan sent in a beauty between the uprights. Toowoomba 15 to 5.[/font]
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England kept pressing, and eventually a movement between Carr, who burst through nicely, to Cunliffe, to Howley, resulted in a good try. Sullivan goaled. Toowoomba 15 points to 10.[/font]
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A free to England and Sullivan's kick was worth 50 yards. Another free kick to England, Sullivan lands the goal. Toowoomba 15 points to 12.[/font]
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Jonty Parkin, the tour captain, watches "a titanic struggle" from the Press table.[/font]
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First scrum in the second half. It happened again! Duncan Thompson receiving from the pack, sent to Colin Thompson, to Gorman, Cuneen and Lindsay, the latter crossing for a brilliant try. Toowoomba 18 points to 12. [/font]
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The Englishmen dribbled the leather. Whitty kicked through, followed quickly, regained, but was smothered by Steinohrt on the line. Mart Ryan retired from the game, having injured his knee. Broadfoot leaving the scrum and filling the position. On resuming Duncan Thompson worked the blind, and gave to Lindsay, who ran over half the length of the field to touch down behind the posts. Duncan Thompson goaled - Toowoomba 23 to 12. [/font]
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England hit back immediately, for Mooney sent an inside pass to his team mate, Thompson, who went over. Sullivan failed - Toowoomba 23 to 15. Toowoomba again went on the attack but were brought down close to the line. Sullivan then sent in the best line kick of the match, gaining over 80 yards. England tried hard to score in the next five minutes, but were unsuccessful. Nearing time, Bowman dribbled finely on his own all the way to the line, Rees fell on it for the score. Sullivan secured the goal. Toowoomba 23 to 20. [/font]
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Great excitement marked the last few minutes of play. Toowoomba did all they knew to stop England scoring again. A few more onslaughts from the visiting vanguard might have carried victory to the white-guernseyed men of England. [/font]
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The referee, James Ollier, blew the whistle for full time. The shadows had crossed the field, it was now almost ten minutes past 5 o'clock.[/font]
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Toowoomba had won a memorable game, 23 to 20. The crowd were in delightful joy at the conclusion. They carried the leading Toowoomba men shoulder high from the field back to the sheds. [/font]
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There was a fearful crush at the so-called gates as the crowd departed, and the wonder is that no one was seriously hurt. Many of the ladies had a bad time and several were on the verge of collapse when they finally got through. It took a very long time for the crowd to make its way out. [/font]
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Standing in the centre of town it was a fine sight to see the cars coming from the grounds down Margaret-street. As far as the eye could see in an easterly direction there was one continuous line of motor cars returning from the match. For 15 minutes the cars passed by. The footpaths for over 20 minutes were thronged with people returning from the match. [/font]
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All the special trains returned at night, and needless to say all were filled with jubilant supporters of the Toowoomba team. One enthusiast from Chinchilla stated, "They are marvellous, and showed us how the League game should be played."[/font]
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Of the English, the nuggety and weighty Mooney was perhaps the best. Sullivan, who is only 20 years of age, should go very far in the Rugby League football world.[/font]
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This great encounter will linger long in the memory of those many thousands who witnessed it, and it has had the effect of putting Toowoomba "on the map" in a football sense as it never was before. [/font]
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The match will probably be talked about when the smallest boy who saw it will be white with the snows of time. Toowoomba deserved its great victory, but the vanquished men of England deserve every credit for the way they stuck to their guns throughout and fought back with true British determination. [/font]
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Supporters of the game in our city are entitled to feel highly elated over the great victory. "The men played like galloping clydesdales," said Mayor Annand.[/font]
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Toowoomba were unbeaten for the rest of the 1924 season, and all of the next - twelve games - 323 points for, to 136 against. They conquered the NSW state team, New Zealand, Brisbane, Ipswich, Victoria and South Sydney. This wonderful team of hard, skilled and entertaining footballers rebuked every attempt to claim their crown. [/font]
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Toowoomba achieved what looked to be impossible.[/font]
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Such a parallel will probably be unknown for all time. [/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]History Article © Sean Fagan / RL1908
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Source material: Steinohrt family collection and the Toowoomba Chronicle[/font]
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RL1908 Feature Articles[/font]
