The Goondiwindi Emus are a unique mob. Tell me, what sort of minds think “Cool, I’m buying a 7m stretch limo today on the way home from club rugby.”
True story.
The “Emusine” is now a part of club history ever since brothers Stuart and Luke Ford, Tom Jakins and Josh Mettam decided on the random purchase earlier this season.
You’ll see it around town dropping players to and from
training and games or taking people to parties, the pub or Ladies’ Day. It made the road trip to play the Condamine Cods much more fun.
It’s teed up for the local high school formal later this year when Jakins will go full black tie as driver.
It’s the perfect party vehicle but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The Emus first have to earn that right. On Saturday, they meet the Dalby Wheatman at Toowoomba Sports Ground in a grand final worthy of the RDO Risdon Cup’s 60-Year landmark for Downs Rugby.
It’s a landmark in many ways.
It will be the final sign-off for classy Emus centre Michael Jamieson, 32, a former Queensland Country rep who has been playing at the club since Under-7s.
Look. Bush stalwarts rarely retire, retire. They may retire from first grade but give a whistle if you are short and you’ve got a C Grade fill-in for sure.
Jamieson (pictured below) will be spending more time on his farm at Boomi. Family life, the wheat and barley crops and his cattle are requiring more time.
Forget “The Farmer Wants A Wife”. On Saturday, “The Farmer Wants A Rugby Premiership” is driving Jamieson and others just like him.
He’s won five in 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2021 but one more in his final game before retirement would be special.
“The Emus just have a great club culture. It’s why you stay,” Jamieson said.
“The footy is good fun but it’s the mateship that’s pretty special. It’s beers at The Vic pub after training on Tuesday, it’s the barbecue and beers in the clubhouse on Thursdays, it’s the road trips to games.
“It’s all very enjoyable and there’s no rubbish to the club.”
The grand final will be Jamieson's 197th game in the senior grades for the Emus. He'll be back for No.200.
There’s heart to the Emus as well.
In June, more than $45,000 was raised for the Leukaemia Foundation through the World’s Greatest Shave. Treasurer-C Grader Andrew Hughes was a lumberjack one minute with full mane and a bowling ball the next.
Coach Sam Tweedy liked the shaven look so much, he’s kept it.
There’s resilience to the club as well.
“Our club is right on the Queensland-NSW border so it was tough during COVID. We couldn’t play the 2020 season with border bubbles and players living either side of the border,” Tweedy said.
“We bounced back. It’s not just about our team or the club, it’s the whole community that gets around us.
“Our sponsors are local. There’s a big turnout for home games and we’ll have two busses heading to the grand final.”
Jamieson knows the hard work done in the forwards is where a big grand final performance has to start.
He’s a big fan of prop-hooker Jack Cook for that reason.
“He’s as good a country rugby player as you get. He’s not very high in build but he creates our go-forward. He’s a very strong human in every sense,” Jamieson nodded.
He grins when raising the name of intercept king Sam Jobling, his centre partner: “He takes a few and throws a few and doesn’t run very far either way.”
No.8 Shane Hassett is your classic bush rugby story. The Irishman landed a few years ago and the blow-in keeps coming back because he loves the club.
Flanker Stuey Ford, schooled at Marist College Ashgrove, has been a big gain this season. He played some first grade with Norths in Brisbane so he's added some backrow class.
Now, the Emusine story.
It seems the lads were on the way to Toowoomba for a game one weekend.
“Yeah, we were just looking at Facebook Marketplace and this 2004 stretch limo popped up,” halfback Luke Ford said.
“We thought, we’ll take a look. We had a look after the game and bought it.
“It’s just for fun. We have a few Emus stickers on it. We drove it to our away game against the Condamine Cods and Tom has the dinner suit to do the high school formal.”
The Goondiwindi Emus are everything that’s good about bush teams in country Queensland with a proud history, resilience, a unique club spirit, stalwarts to count on and blokes crazy enough to buy a 7m black stretch limo for fun.
