Rugby league · Queensland

Rugby league training for Toowoomba & the Darling Downs

The Clydesdales are one of rugby league’s great country names — in 1924 they beat England — and their return to the Cup in 2023 gave Darling Downs juniors a pathway without leaving home.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

The Western Clydesdales, based at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba, represent the Darling Downs and South West Queensland in the Queensland Cup — they returned in 2023 after a 17-year absence, and field Cyril Connell Cup (under-17) and Mal Meninga Cup (under-19) teams. Community football runs through the Toowoomba Rugby League.

12 clubs

Find your club in Toowoomba & the Darling Downs

The clubs in the competition’s own record, with their home grounds. Contact the club for age groups and girls’ and women’s teams.

Toowoomba Rugby League
ClubHome groundTown
Dalby DevilsDalby Leagues Club, DalbyDalby
Gatton HawksCahill Park Sporting Complex, GattonGatton
Goondiwindi BoarsGilbert Oval, GoondiwindiGoondiwindi
Highfields EaglesKuhls Road Oval, ToowoombaToowoomba
Newtown LionsJack Martin Centre, ToowoombaToowoomba
Oakey BearsOakey Rugby League FieldsOakey
Pittsworth DanesPittsworth Rugby League OvalPittsworth
Southern Suburbs TigersGold Park, ToowoombaToowoomba
Brothers Toowoomba LeprechaunsGlenholme Park, ToowoombaToowoomba
Toowoomba Valleys RoostersJohn McDonald Sports Complex, ToowoombaToowoomba
Warwick CowboysCollegians Junior Rugby League Oval, WarwickWarwick
Wattles WarriorsPlatz Oval, ToowoombaToowoomba

Checked September 2026. Clubs merge, fold and change grounds between seasons; the competition is right if this is not.

Your pathway

Which club your address belongs to

The Western Clydesdales run the junior representative pathway for the Darling Downs and South West Queensland.

Western Clydesdales
Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba. Formerly the Toowoomba Clydesdales; renamed on their 2023 return to reflect the west as well as Toowoomba.

Catchments follow the junior club you play for. If your club sits near a boundary, the Cup club or your junior club can confirm which program you trial for.

How the rugby league pathway works, step by step →

Where you play

The competitions

Queensland Cup (Hostplus Cup)
The Western Clydesdales, back in the competition since 2023.
Mal Meninga Cup and Cyril Connell Cup
The Clydesdales’ under-19 and under-17 teams.
Toowoomba Rugby League
Community club football around Toowoomba and the Downs.
Your first ten minutes

Set it up for Toowoomba & the Darling Downs

Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.

Choose rugby league, then your team nights

Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Queensland Cup (Hostplus Cup) or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.

Match the program to your league’s start

The app treats November to February as rugby league pre-season and March to October as the season. A junior rep player whose games start in February can set their phase to in-season early. The phase lives in Program → Your year.

Know your numbers on day one

Your first testing session is ready immediately: Bronco test, Bench press 1RM, Weighted chin-up 3RM, Back squat 1RM, Standing vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.

Put your suburb on the board

In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.

ToowoombaDalbyWarwickOakeyHighfieldsPittsworthRoma

Starting now

What you start with, by the month you join

Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block.

Jan
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Feb
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Mar
In-season
Maintenance block
Apr
In-season
Maintenance block
May
In-season
Maintenance block
Jun
In-season
Maintenance block
Jul
In-season
Maintenance block
Aug
In-season
Maintenance block
Sep
In-season
Maintenance block
Oct
In-season
Maintenance block
Nov
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Dec
Pre-season
Max-strength block
Read from the app: the season phase a new rugby league account starts in, and the first four-week block it runs.
The year

The rugby league year in Toowoomba & the Darling Downs

November – January
Pre-season, in the heat. Aerobic base, then strength, then repeat-effort work. Test on arrival.
February – May
Junior representative season. In 2026 the Mal Meninga Cup finals began on 25–26 April, with the grand final in early May.
March – August
Queensland Cup and club seasons, with Cup finals in September. Volume comes down, weights hold.
September – October
Finals, then a short break. League gives you almost no off-season.

How the program follows your season →

Conditions

Warm summers, cold Range winters

Toowoomba sits on the Great Dividing Range, so its summers are milder than Brisbane’s — but its winters are cold, and out west on the Downs the summers are hot. Use the milder months to build the aerobic base, and treat the warm-up on a cold winter night as part of the session.

For coaches

Coaching a side in Toowoomba & the Darling Downs?

A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.

FAQ

Rugby league in Toowoomba & the Darling Downs: questions

Which Queensland Cup club covers Toowoomba?
The Western Clydesdales, based at Clive Berghofer Stadium, who represent the Darling Downs and South West Queensland.
When did the Clydesdales return to the Queensland Cup?
In 2023, after a 17-year absence, renamed from the Toowoomba Clydesdales to the Western Clydesdales.
Sources

Where these facts come from

Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.

  1. Western Clydesdales
  2. Queensland Cup — 2026 clubs and season
  3. QRL — 2026 junior representative draws
  4. Toowoomba Rugby League — clubs and grounds

Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.

Turn up to round one already fit

Pick rugby league, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.