{"id":295323,"date":"2025-11-19T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295323\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:00:09","slug":"how-one-pioneer-and-kfc-launched-a-unique-queensland-competition-total-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295323\/","title":{"rendered":"How one pioneer \u2013 and KFC \u2013 launched a unique Queensland competition \u2013 Total Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n As Brisbane Broncos celebrate winning the NRL Premiership, we take a trip down memory lane to revisit what preceded their existence on Queensland\u2019s rugby league scene.<\/p>\n

LONG before the Brisbane Broncos were born in 1988, the Brisbane Rugby League competition was thriving and one of the most popular competitions in Australia.<\/p>\n

But there was once another competition in Queensland, and one that left an everlasting footprint on rugby league in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

If there was ever a time in the history of Queensland rugby league that reigned supreme, then it would have to be the old Winfield State League competition back in the 1980s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Winfield State League was a huge success, even greater than everyone\u2019s expectations including concept founder, the late QRL chairman Ron McAuliffe.<\/p>\n

Looking back, cash-wise, the State League was incredibly expensive to run even way back in 1982 when the competition kicked off.<\/p>\n

At a whopping AU$830,000, it was a massive gamble by both the QRL and major sponsor Kentucky Fried Chicken to bankroll such a competition that had never been tried or tested before.<\/p>\n

But the dividends paid off for both the QRL and KFC, with the entirety of Queensland embracing the concept.<\/p>\n

In 1982 the State League competition involved all clubs from the powerful Brisbane Rugby League competition.<\/p>\n

These clubs took on regional teams from throughout Queensland over seven rounds, with one or more finals being played to determine the competition winner.<\/p>\n

Names such as Central Queensland Capras, Wide Bay Bulls, North Queensland Marlins and the Gold Coast Vikings, were the teams selected to take on the might of the strong Brisbane clubs.<\/p>\n

This format remained largely intact until 1988 when it was determined that the results of Brisbane club matches would go towards the State League instead of separate matches being played.<\/p>\n

To this day, the most significant masterstroke of this competition was that of placing the head of Colonel Sanders on team jerseys; a smash hit amongst the fans.<\/p>\n

Kentucky Fried Chicken reportedly injected $480,000 in sponsorship for the nine-week competition, (it it\u2019s believed that KFC sales especially within Queensland, increased overnight by 40 percent for the fast-food giant.)<\/p>\n

As word spread round the campfire of how exciting the competition was, more and more people started to take an interest.<\/p>\n

Country areas were especially popular with gate receipts churning out some amazing figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most notably, the Gold Coast Vikings and the North Queensland Marlins were the country success stories raking in thousands of dollars with crowd figures up by 60 percent.<\/p>\n

Gold Coast Vikings were unstoppable in their matches, not only becoming popular because of their striking jersey, but the supporters loved the Vikings expansive style of play.<\/p>\n

Having defeated glamour Brisbane clubs, Souths, Brothers and Wests and drawing against Norths, the Gold Coast side was certainly not there to make up the numbers.<\/p>\n

But it was the vision of the late Ron McCauliffe who left a legacy surrounding the Winfield State League given it was his initial brainchild.<\/p>\n

His love of ensuring that regional teams were somehow to be included alongside the powerful Brisbane clubs, will always be something that McAuliffe will be respected for.<\/p>\n

His legacy as one of the true pioneers of midweek and state competitions will go down in the QRL history books and was a pivotal turning point in Queensland Rugby League.<\/p>\n

North Queensland Marlins will always be grateful to McAuliffe who seemingly saved rugby league up in the north from collapsing through the State League competition.<\/p>\n

In its prime, the Winfield State League unearthed some terrific players both from city and country areas who kickstarted their careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Players such as Martin Bella (Nth Qld), Dale Shearer (Nth Qld) and Michael Hancock (Toowoomba) all went onto to became household names.<\/p>\n

Inaugural winners of the 1982 State League, Easts Tigers, defeated a red hot Redcliffe side 23-15 at Lang Park, winning the competition from fourth spot.<\/p>\n

In round three, a massive upset occurred when a virtually unknown Wide Bay Bulls side clinched a thrilling 17-16 win over a star-studded Souths Magpies team in Gympie.<\/p>\n

The Magpies were boasted internationals in Mal Meninga, Gary Belcher and Peter Jackson, but they were totally outclassed by the gallant Bulls side.<\/p>\n

It was quite a big deal for Brisbane clubs to play in these small towns as the old BRL was arguably the second strongest competition in the world, just behind the NSWRL competition.<\/p>\n

McAuliffe, in all his wisdom, wanted to showcase his model to the rugby league community and it was a roaring success.<\/p>\n

Places such as Ayr, Southport, Roma, Blackwater, Ingham and Biloela were just some of the wonderful grounds that in the past, have seen international teams do battle with the locals in years gone by.<\/p>\n

Another feather in McAuliffe\u2019s cap was his marketing team\u2019s ability to give supporters enough merchandise to poke a stick at.<\/p>\n

Supporters\u2019 jerseys, flags, balls, yo-yos, caps, jumpers, tracksuits and badges were all snapped up by fans. Demand was so high, the QRL couldn\u2019t keep up with supplies.<\/p>\n

Sadly, after Kentucky Fried Chicken pulled the pin on sponsorship and the competition slowly faded away into the background with the acquisition of the Broncos, the competition lost momentum.<\/p>\n

Memorabilia from this competition is quite sought after amongst collectors even to this day.<\/p>\n

If you are holding onto one of the iconic Colonel Sanders jerseys, you are certainly in possession of a highly prized item.<\/p>\n

These jerseys easily command four figures on the vintage clothing market and are up there on every collector\u2019s wants list.<\/p>\n

But with memorabilia aside and McAuliffe leaving behind a legacy in Queensland Rugby League, homage must be paid to the clubs who participated in this incredible series.<\/p>\n

The Winfield State League breathed new life into Queensland Rugby League which at the time, was looking at ways to rival their Sydney counterparts.<\/p>\n

Kentucky Fried Chicken may have their 11 secret herbs and spices in their ingredients, however, McAuliffe\u2019s State League\u2019s recipe provided a smorgasbord of exciting rugby league to feast on, in true Queensland style.<\/p>\n

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 514 (November 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Brisbane Broncos celebrate winning the NRL Premiership, we take a trip down memory lane to revisit what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-295323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}