Name: $120k funding for flood-hit rugby league clubs
Uploaded: 2025-12-20T21:01:32.061Z
Duration: 3 min 35 s
Description: Seven months after devastating floods hit Taree, local footy clubs are rebuilding thanks to $120k in joint funding from NSW Rugby League, NSW Government and Westpac. The funding has helped the grassroots teams replace essential equipment and prepare for the season ahead.

Seven months after devastating floods hit Taree, local footy clubs are rebuilding thanks to $120k in joint funding from NSW Rugby League, NSW Government and Westpac. The funding has helped the grassroots teams replace essential equipment and prepare for the season ahead.

Taree

The Taree Regional Recreation Centre, home to two local rugby league clubs, suffered extensive damage when the Manning River flooded, submerging clubhouses and destroying decades of accumulated equipment. In response, $120,000 in joint funding from NSW Rugby League, the NSW Government, and Westpac was provided to help the Taree Red Rovers and Panthers replace lost items and restore their facilities.

Officials from the funding organizations visited Taree to witness the impact of the support, which has enabled the clubs to resume activities and prepare for future seasons. Community leaders emphasized the importance of rugby league to the region, highlighting how the funding has helped unite and uplift the local community after the disaster.

$120k funding for flood-hit rugby league clubs

Spanning some 50 hectares, Taree Regional Recreation Centre is the biggest sporting field on the NSW Mid North Coast. But just a few months ago, this place looked very different. In May, when the Manning River burst its banks in a once in a 500 year flooding event, much of the wreck went under, including the clubhouse and sheds used by Taree's two rugby league teams. The floodwaters probably come up to about here. So it would have destroyed everything. Yeah, everything. Melissa Gee is club secretary at the Taree Red Rovers. I don't even know the words to use to describe it. It was just something we've never seen before. We lost nearly all of our apparel, all of the tackle bags, goalpost pads, corner posts, everything like that had been sitting in floodwater. I guess the first emotion is that we don't know how to deal with any of this. Also affected, the Taree Panthers. Tell me about how bad it got. We've lost things that the club has built up over 20 odd years. We had water sort of just over a metre. Now, seven months on since the devastating floods, NSW Rugby League officials, along with representatives from the NSW Government and Westpac, have come together in Taree to see how $120,000 in joint funding has helped the clubs get back on their feet and back on the field. Post pads, microwaves, freezers, fridges, uniforms have all been replaced now through this funding. Walking through the sheds today, having that new canteen set up, I think it's going to make a real difference. Community sport is the lifeblood of many communities, particularly in our regional areas. Emily Suval is from the NSW Government. It's not possible to describe the level of devastation that occurred. You've got people that are volunteers that run these clubs that also lost their businesses. We have two family businesses that were impacted quite dramatically and also our family home was impacted. For Westpac's Jason Stevens and local Taree bank manager Mel Clout, hearing stories like these serve as a reminder of how vital this funding has been, not just to local clubs but to the local community more generally. It was all brought alive today, just standing out on the field, you know, where the water had been. We want to help our communities prosper and grow. This support, and we can see it around us, has really helped you rebuild. It basically has saved us. We've pretty much got a brand new start for 2026 with equipment, which is really good. As the Red Rovers and Panthers prepare for the season ahead, Daniel Ristick from NSW Rugby League says today's visit to Taree has also been a chance to celebrate the contribution grassroots footy makes to the national game. Footy is such a big part of Taree and superstar players have come out of here, the likes of Latrell Mitchell. Giving back to them is so important. When you think about it, Rugby League really is the heart and soul of this place, isn't it? I don't think you can put it into words how much it means. We have grand final day and then the following Monday they're messaging me asking when does training start. So yeah, we're definitely the heart and soul. The money that we're able to get from Westpac, the government and NSW Rugby League, the way it's pulled people together and the way it's picked the whole community up has been unbelievable.

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