Unfortunately, it is what it is. The media shows it scant respect and it has probably settled at a level that hasn't changed too much either way for some years.
The old traditional BRL clubs, particularly those with tribal bases like Redcliffe and Wynnum, have a reasonably large and passionate following. Easts are backed by a large Leagues Club as well while Norths and Souths battle away with smaller fan bases.
Burleigh and Tweed to a lesser extent have parochial followers being long established clubs in their own right. Ipswich and all the northern teams are up against the local competitions for supporters but most seem to have reasonable following. Less so for Sunshine Coast.
PNG are in a class of their own with a whole nation plus every ex-pat in Qld supporting them.
While journos use essentially derogatory terms like "park football" and calling it "reserve grade", it is hard to generate wider interest in the Queensland Cup.
Souths and Wynnum played trial matches against Broncos teams largely made up of players who will be Q Cup rather than NRL players this year. All the news reports talked about who did what for the "Broncos" - not one player from Souths or Wynnum got a mention in any report before or after the trials. Because some Q Cup level players had Broncos jerseys on their backs, they were important and the opposition wasn't worth mentioning.