The sight of disappointed kids missing out on a junior football tournament in Townsville due to lockdown was too much to bear for Wanderers coach and vice president Mitch Cleary.
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So he got to work and has managed to create a substitute competition in Cloncurry which will take place this Saturday.
"We had a team organised to go to the Gorden Tallis Cup and that got cancelled because of Covid and there was a lot of upset kids so in two days we pulled together a carnival in Cloncurry for Saturday," Mr Cleary said.
"We offered it to Hughenden and Richmond and Longreach but there's too many tourists in those places."
So Saturday's carnival will be played in Cloncurry instead. It will be for under 10s boys and girls as well as under nines and teams from Charters Towers, Normanton and Doomadgee have been invited as well.
It starts 9am Saturday at Eddie Lee Field.
"People have worked hard to get it going and Council have been really good," Mr Cleary said.
"They had issues with the plumbing there and Council worked all day today (Thursday) to sort it out for us."
Mr Cleary said the games will be 20 minute games in carnival format with each team playing each other twice or three times with finals to finish.
"I bought a big trophy in Mount Isa and called that the Clonurry Lockdown Not Gorden Tallis Cup 2021," he said.
"2011 and 2012 kids are invited to attend - 10 and nine year old. Turn up and you'll get a game.
There is a second trophy for player of the carnival
"We wanted to make the experience as close as they could get in the cup," Mr Cleary said.
Anyone in the area is welcome to attend and cheer on the kids.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
