The Past Brothers Rugby League Football Club, or Brisbane Brothers Rugby League Football Club nicknamed the

Leprechauns A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...

, or more commonly known as Brothers, or as The Brethren, was a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club based in the city of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, that played in the top level of football from its foundation in 1929 until 1998. The club previously played in the Queensland Cup and the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, but no longer plays in those competitions.

History

Past Brothers was founded in 1929 when former members (Tom Gorman, Gerry Allman, Stan Ross amongst others) of the

Brothers Old Boys Brothers Rugby Club (formally Brothers Old Boys) is an Australian rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The name alludes to its beginnings as a rugby club founded by alumni of schools established by the Congregation of Christian Brothe ...

decided to found a new club to compete in the Queensland Rugby League Metropolitan competition in Brisbane. Brothers Old Boys remained in the Brisbane Rugby League competition for the 1929 season before going back to rugby in 1930, whereupon the Past Brothers Club joined the Brisbane Rugby League competition. Past Brothers did not win its first premiership until 1935 but quickly backed it up with more in 1939, 1942, and 1943. When district football was introduced in the 1930s, Brothers clearly defied the idea as, unlike their competition counterparts

Valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

, Norths, Souths, Easts and Wests, they were not a location in Brisbane. Although the pressure was placed upon them by governing bodies, they were allowed to keep the unique name. In the 1960s, while playing for Brothers,

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series ''The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recurr ...

was selected as captain of

. Brothers last success was as premiers in 1987, defeating the

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...

in the grand final. The club had been runner-up to the

Wynnum-Manly Seagulls The Wynnum-Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, Queensland, Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum, Queensland, Wynnum. They competed in the Bri ...

the year before. By the time the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

entered the Sydney Rugby League premiership in 1988, they were in financial trouble that only got worse as the years progressed. They were forced out of their traditional home at Corbett Park by financial administrators, and after temporarily playing out of Crosby Park, they relocated to Bray Park, renaming the club Pine Rivers Brothers. In 1998, they moved back to Brisbane under the name ''Brisbane Brothers'' and became a feeder club to the Broncos, before closing at season's end. Seemingly out of its financial hardship by the turn of the century, Brothers applied for a position in the 2000 and 2001

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

s, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2002, it merged with Valleys and formed

Brothers-Valleys Brothers-Valleys were a rugby league team formed from a merger between the Brothers and Fortitude Valley Diehards teams in 2002. The team debuted in a pre-season match against St George-Illawarra in 2002, and for the next two seasons competed i ...

, playing in the Quest Cup before re-entering the Queensland Cup in 2004. Brothers-Valleys finished last, with the only point coming from a draw in round 1. A new name and jersey were planned for the following year, but on 22 November the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

announced, "The only club not participating in 2005 will be Brothers Diehards. While the QRL acknowledges the rich history associated with the organisation, the club’s inability to meet specified guidelines has resulted in this situation." At present, Past Brothers' spirit continues to compete in the

South East Division The Queensland Rugby League South East Division (also known as the South East Division) is a rugby league division responsible for the running of rugby league in South-East Queensland. This makes the South East Division responsible for the FOGS C ...

junior competitions, playing out of Gibson Park in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

as Brisbane Brothers JRLFC.

Crest and colours

Traditionally, the club wears a predominantly navy blue jersey with white butcher stripes (irregular hoops), although for a time they wore an all-navy blue jersey with a thick white bar through the middle. The numbers on the backs of the players' jerseys were normally red on a white background, although, depending on the jersey design being used, they were sometimes white on a blue background.

Home grounds

Traditionally the club's home ground was Corbett Park in The Grange. However, it was forced out by financial administrators when the club's financial position severely worsened. The club temporarily played out of Crosby Park in Albion and

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

, but in 1996 it relocated to Bray Park in the Pine Rivers Shire, hoping for greener pastures. This proved unsuccessful, and in 1998 the club was back in Brisbane. Through feeder club arrangement with the

, it played some "home" games as curtain-raisers at

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

, with the remainder at Crosby Park, sharing the venue with Brothers Rugby Club. Currently, the brand name lives on in Brisbane through the junior club, Brisbane Brothers JRLFC, which has successfully operated out of Gibson Park, Stafford, since 2006.5

Footnotes

World of Rugby League's Past Brothers page
retrieved 6 December 2005
Brisbane Rugby League 1st Grade Grand Final Results
retrieved 6 December 2005
"Brothers Return To Stafford"
by the Queensland Rugby League, retrieved 6 December 2005 # Lester, Gary. ''The Sun Book of Rugby League''
"About Us"
by Brothers JRLFC, retrieved 14 March 2016

References

External links