http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...t-in-the-pilbara/story-e6freuy9-1226353338028
NRL strikes it rich out in the Pilbara
JOSH MASSOUD IN THE PILBARA The Daily Telegraph May 12, 2012 12:00AM
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Brandon Saena, 12. Picture: Aaron Bunch Source: The Daily Telegraph
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EACH week the rocky red outcrops of the Pilbara produce tonnes of gems in a modern-day gold rush that is luring jet-loads of mercenaries from the east.
Karratha, Port Hedland, Newman, Wickham; towns dotted through Western Australia's mineral belt, a region confined to the business pages because of its role in keeping the economy afloat.
But Pilbara's well-documented mining boom is now starting to deliver something more than iron ore.
Flush with community investment from mining behemoths, these towns are bullseyes on the battlefield for sporting allegiance and the surprise player - on what many would assume to be hostile soil - is rugby league.
That much was confirmed when NRL One Community ambassadors Trent Barrett, Mario Fenech, David Peachey and Adam MacDougall toured schools and clubs in the Pilbara this week.
That's right - clubs. Nearly a continent away from NSW and Queensland are five rugby league clubs and 800 players - it's the footballing equivalent of discovering life on Mars.
Fighting desperately to win WA an NRL franchise with one hand, WARL boss John Sackson has been helping their growth with the other.
"You read about the Pilbara in the business pages but never in the sports pages. That will change," he said.
The area's two biggest towns, Karratha and Port Hedland, each have permanent populations of just under 20,000.
But when fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mine workers from the eastern seaboard are included, that number explodes to between 50,000 and 60,000. Plying transient labour back and forth across on private jets is ridiculously expensive.
So mining giants such as BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are using their mega-profits to build lucrative frontier towns.
In Wickham, a speck on the map 40km from Karratha, Rio Tinto has just spent $20 million building a sparkling new sporting complex.
It boasts two fields, AFL and rugby league, with enormous steel light towers ringing each perimeter.
P erched above is a clubhouse containing four changerooms, a gym, a function room, bar and a restaurant. All this for a town with an estimated population of just 1800.
"Mining companies are desperate to attract the best labour," Pilbara's sport manager Kane Benson said.
"The better the town, the more skilled workers they will attract. For families considering a move here permanently they first want to know there will be good schools and hospitals.
"But sport is also a huge factor in people's lives and the mining companies know that if they build the right facilities, the workers will come."
Giving clinics and NRL learning programs such as Dream, Believe, Achieve in six Karratha schools last Monday and Tuesday, Barrett and Fenech were clearly understood and recognised.
"We might not ever get an NRL player from Karratha, but that's not the point of the exercise," Barrett said.
WIN Television's decision to broadcast Friday and Sunday games at friendly times has been a major breakthrough. Just as crucial is WIN's commitment to show all three Origin matches at 7.30pm across the state.
"That's probably the most exciting thing that's happened to rugby league in Western Australia since the Western Reds," Sackson said.
Positive change is happening. The near-fatal damage inflicted from the Reds' abrupt demise 15 years ago are healing.
While there's no guarantee it will revive a WA-based outfit with expansion, the ALRC has just agreed to fund a permanent development officer in Pilbarra.
The NRL's nine-day tour, which wraps-up tonight with Peachey and MacDougall hosting a fundraiser in Port Hedland, also included specialist refereeing and administration training.
Further proof decision-makers in Sydney are again looking west. For now, the horizon is relatively clear. It won't be the case for long.
