There are people who have a mission in mind, and then there’s Tim Moggridge of All Saints Toongabbie Tigers JRLC in western Sydney.
A proud Kamilaroi man, Moggridge has his antennae raised whenever he sees an opportunity that can be developed into a plan, and then put into action.
Not only does he and his co-officials at Toongabbie try to help players from Indigenous and multicultural backgrounds, they have zeroed in on the female game.
“It’s been really special to see the growth of a little club like Toongabbie. We’re next to the Wenty Magpies, the Hills Bulls, and Mounties and Cabramatta,” Moggridge said.
“A little club that has grown into something significant.”
Moggridge has been All Saints club secretary for over 10 years now – deciding to help out when asked by other parents whose kids played at Toongabbie too.
“Myself and another three or four others, we channelled the club like it was a business with our branding, sponsorship, and our investment in people,” Moggridge said.
“We’re known for our prominence in the female space. This year we will be 43 per cent female membership in the club – of which over 10 per cent are Indigenous.
“That was a purposeful strategy as we knew we couldn’t compete in the boys’ space with the bigger clubs.”
Toongabbie has an Open Women’s team, an Under 18s, two Under 16s, an Under 14s and Under 12s, while girls play with the boys in the lower age groups down to Under 6s.
“We engaged some key people to support us back in 2013 when we really pushed for an Under-14s girls side. We told them this could be the start of something really special and they all bought in,” Moggridge said.
“We wanted to invent it, we started it, and now the flow-on effect is there to see.
“Out of that Under-14s came (Harvey Norman NSW City U19s) Tallara Bamblett who was halfback for the 2022 Australian Schoolgirls team, and Ruby-Jean Kennard-Ellis from the Parramatta NRLW side.
“Our Under-18s girls have formed half the Tarsha Gale side for the Eels this year, our Under-16s girls are the majority of the Lisa Fiaola (U17s) team.”
Moggridge’s mother grew up Toomelah Mission on the NSW-Queensland border, west of Tenterfield.
His feelings for Indigenous Round are strong but not exclusive.
“We don’t just push the Indigenous space… we want everyone here because we’re community focused.
“We don’t have a big shiny club, we’re just developing youngsters and letting them play.
“There are so many great initiatives in our game on a day-to-day basis and Indigenous Round is one of the greatest.
“When I came through school you didn’t tell anyone you were black for fear of the reaction.
“But now kids can celebrate that and be themselves thanks to lots of progressive things like Indigenous Round. And that flows through to kids of all cultural backgrounds.”
