Rugby league players from across the Western Plains who usually find themselves head to head joined forces on Saturday, 15 July to form the New South Wales side of the Inaugural Outback Challenge. 

From across the border, a team of south-west Queenslanders found strength in their home side advantage, with the mens side taking a 52-0 win at Miles, Queensland.

The team battled it out to win the Arthur Beetson-Ron Gibbs Outback Shield for the first time since 2011, with hopes that this year could be the first of many more to come. 



Hailing from the Goodooga Magpies, NSW vice captain Farren Lamb took Best and Fairest of the match. 

“We were told (at home) that there would be scouts looking around to get picked to play on the NSW side. We played as normal every week, and five of us got selected,” Mr Lamb said. 

Among the team were men and women from the Bourke Warriors, Brewarrina Coogars, Goodooga Magpies, Collarenebri Bulldogs, as well as teams from further afield.

The day marked the first round of the Outback Challenge in over a decade. (NSWRL)

With just one training round together in their new team, Mr Lamb said it was a strange experience playing beside his opponents. 

“Everyone mingled and got to know each other, then you got out there and tried to put it all together,” he said. 

The weekend also marked the women’s first round in the competition, with the NSW side taking home an 18-14 win. 

NSW women’s side player Hannah Carroll said that it was a great opportunity to play a tackle game of rugby, with the competition her Cobar Roosters team plays in being tag only. 

“There’s not really much of a tackle comp out here…we have to travel to play tackle,” Ms Carroll said. 

“We need more out west…it might give girls more opportunity to say ‘I want to do that’ rather than it constantly being a boys game,” she said. 

Shakaye Walker from the Castlereagh Cougars holds up a Queensland player

Playing alongside people she’s versed time and time again did have some benefits in the newly compiled team. 

“You use the strengths that you don’t like when you’re playing against them.” 

The women’s side saw players from local teams the Coonabarabran Unicorns, Castlereagh Cougars, Coonamble Bears, Cobar Roosters, Baradine Magpies, Bourke Warriors, Brewarrina Coogars, Lightning Ridge, Condobolin and further afield.