Club seeking help

Inala coach Chris Conlon.

ON August 22, 2009, Chris Conlon held aloft the Brisbane Second Division Rugby League (BSDRL) Southside 2 premiership trophy.

Following the memorable grand final win, the Inala open men’s coach stood up on stage and spoke passionately about how proud he was to be representing the Inala community.

Unfortunately that day could be his final great memory of the club he has been a part of since he was a boy.

West Inala Junior Rugby League Club is at risk of collapse after more than 50 years in Inala, due to a lack of quality facilities, community support and money.

The club’s junior registration numbers have taken a hammering in recent years, while finding volunteers has become harder than scoring in-demand concert tickets.

But the biggest shock came when Inala was a notable omission from the 2010 Southside 2 season when BSDRL released the team nomination and gradings for each competition last week.

When The Satellite contacted Conlon to ask why the side would not be defending their title this year, a despairing Conlon revealed only three players from last year’s squad had returned to the club in 2010 – and they were all his nephews.

During further discussions, Conlon disclosed the reasons for the incredible revelation.

He blamed the club’s substandard clubhouse, change rooms and fields at the multi-tenured C J Greenfield Sports Complex, and a shortage of sponsors as the major causes for why his players jumped ship.

“It seems we struggle every year, we can’t offer our players anything, the boys get chucked money, a t-shirt or a promised trip away by other clubs and they just go,” an emotional Conlon said.

“Even our juniors are running off to other clubs.

“All these other clubs have got money and clubhouses where you can take your missus and kids – we’ve got a dirty old shed and dirty old dressing rooms which we’ve had for years.”

The extent of the West Inala’s financial woes is typified best by their juniors having to wear uniforms this season that have been used since 2007.

Conlon, who will now coach Inala’s only remaining opens side (Southside 4), conceded the club’s inexperienced and ever-changing committee members have had trouble trying to secure grants to improve their facilities and generate enough money for the club to stay afloat.

He said the club needed to script together some long-term strategies, but feared West Inala would have to close unless they received urgent help from Brisbane City Council, the State Government and the local business community.

“We’re begging for this community that we grew up in for years to come help,” he said.

“We’ve been struggling for a number of years, but we’ve been able to control it up until now.

“If we don’t get support soon, we’ll be gone in a year or two and I’d hate to see that because I remember when I was a kid I used to play here.

“For some of the kids, this is the only thing they’ve got.”

Richlands Ward Councillor, Milton Dick first became aware of the club’s problems last year and promised to do everything he could to help.

“I will seek for an urgent meeting this week with them and offer any support I can,” Cr Dick said.

“The club is a fixture in our local area and provides an outlet for young kids to play sport and it would be a tragedy if the club folded.

“I’ve also requested in this year’s budget support for an improvement to the club’s field as one of my priorities.”