Deadly footy was the name of the game at the Murri v Koori Interstate Challenge, held on Saturday 24 February at the Logan Metro Sports Complex at Crestmead.
While the weekend was disappointing for most of Queensland’s sides, including the Open Men (Michael Purcell Memorial) losing to Walgett (4-46), Queensland’s Open Women (Mungindi Panthers) representatives were victorious in a nailbiter against the Newcastle Yowies (20-18).
QAIHC was proud to sponsor the Murri v Koori Interstate Challenge and a team of six QAIHC staff were there on the day to spread the word about the state’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) sector.
QAIHC Office and Events Manager Tiana Lea said the Murri vs Koori Interstate Challenge was always a deadly day of footy.
She said it was amazing to see such a huge turnout especially when half the teams and many of the supporters had travelled
from interstate.
“But what makes this carnival so special is that it’s not just about footy — there’s also a huge focus on health and wellbeing,” she said.
Under the QAIHC marquee, our intrepid team handed out fresh fruit, QAIHC merchandise, spoke to people about the ACCHO sector and conducted a survey of attendees, aimed at improving the ACCHO sector’s service to mob.
The survey asked mob, especially young mob, how often they attended an Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS), and how they
felt in going to their AMS.
Lack of engagement of youth in Community with the ACCHO sector has become a sector-wide concern.
QAIHC and Members have been working together to encourage our young people to reengage with their local AMS, and the survey is one method in use.
To sweeten the deal on the survey, QAIHC had prizes on offer for all respondents; first prize was $200, second prize was $100, and third prize was $50. All prizes were given as Visa gift cards.
While the two opens games were played against the winners of the Murri Carnival and Koori Knockout, five of the preceding matches were a cultural celebration with the Queensland Murri players, facing off against Rugby League Samoa Queensland.
The only other interstate match of the event was in the Under 16 Boys category, with Queensland Murri facing off with NSW Koori in the 2024 Steve ‘Bear’ Hall Shield.
NSW Koori, in a reversal from 2023, was able to reclaim the Shield with a convincing win over Queensland Murri (36-22).
