For many at the Mount Isa Wanderers Rugby League Football Club, Saturday evening was a chance to celebrate the past and the present.
Up to 300 former and current Wanderers players from as far as Auckland and the Torres Strait Islands gathered for a reunion dinner at the Barkly Hotel to celebrate the club's 70 year milestone.
To mark the celebration, the club sought 2003 NRL Premiership winner and 2001 Dally M Medallist Preston Campbell who gave a presentation on his experiences with mental health, depression and growing up in a small rural town.
The club was formed in 1953 and has featured several notable players including Terry Hammond, Vernon Frank Daisy and former Brisbane Broncos fullback Shane Duffy.
Wanderers club committee and life member Alan Baillie paid homage to the club, saying the reunion was a testament to the impact the club has had on the community.
"With Wanderers, the folklore that's been created extends far beyond the boundaries of Mount Isa.
"We had people come from the Torres Strait Islands, Perth, Auckland, and all over Australia and beyond and I think that's them saying, 'well, it's a tribal sport, but Wanderers are our tribe, they're our mob, they're our family'," he said.
"We have great Indigenous players, great Kiwi players, great non-Indigenous players, so it's just a melting pot of wonderful people really."
"I think it's one of the most famous country clubs in rugby league to be honest and it's a real family culture."
Wanderers were formed in 1953 by a group of breakaway players from another Mount Isa-based club known as Town Rugby League Club.
The club won game in its debut season, and that win came against their now fierce local rivals, Town. In what can only be described as an ironic coincidence, the Wanderers' last win of their 2022 premiership-winning campaign also came against Town.
Mr Baillie, whose involvement with the club dates back to around 2000, said Wanderers were "one of the most famous country clubs in rugby league".
"It's a real family culture," he said.
"A lot of the fellows that I've coached started off when I was 16 or 17 years of age, and they're now married men with families and all of their kids play juniors."
Mr Baillie said the reunion night was a chance to renew old acquaintances.
"I still see quite a few of them quite regularly. There are others that I hadn't seen for quite a few years and it was wonderful to see them as well."
Former NRL Premiership winner and 2001 Dally M Medallist Preston Campbell received a standing ovation on the evening after he delivered a moving speech on his experiences with mental health, depression and going from growing up in a small rural town to playing professional rugby league.
"It was a tremendous message," Mr Baillie said.
"He said how important it was for especially men to step up and talk about mental health and to actually support each other, not to be embarrassed and ashamed about it."
The evening was supported by local sponsors including the Barkly Hotel and Indigenous charity group, Myuma. Club officials also thanked its committee members Vicky Bailey, Lisa Bailey and Crystal O'Sullivan for their tireless support.
