Brothers Football Club Ipswich 4.36

Brothers Football Club began operation in Ipswich in 1914, formed with the guidance of Brother TC Seery, Principal of the Ipswich Christian Brothers College, Saint Mary's.

In the early days, Brothers did not have a permanent home and trained at any ground that was available to them in the Ipswich area, including soccer grounds at Blackstone and the Ipswich Showgrounds.

It was not until 1963 that Brothers finally found a home of its own when a dedicated committee with tremendous foresight decided to move to grounds at Wildey Street, Raceview - the well known grounds which the club calls home to this day.

In 1974, a major development saw the erection of a modern two-level clubhouse which opened in September of that year. It was the only licensed football club in the district and became a very popular venue for entertainment and private functions. This saw the birth of Brothers Leagues Club.

The road to success was not always smooth for Brothers. In later years, several 'outside elements' including the closure of a number of the district's coal mines, greatly affecting the disposable income of the community. By late 1991, the club's membership had been reduced to 300 and credit from suppliers was non-existent.

Fortunately 1992 saw the introduction of gaming machines into Queensland which were the 'saviour' of many clubs. An extended and renovated clubhouse was opened on September 18, 1993 by then Governor-General, Bill Hayden, and once again Brothers was booming. It enjoyed a renewed resurgence in the community as a venue for social gatherings and good quality food and entertainment.

The club's success story kept on writing itself when, after two years of planning and management, the 'new' Brothers was opened on December 19, 1996.

The extensive building renovation of the club has since thrust Brothers to the forefront of entertainment and associated services in the Ipswich district.

Renovations have included new change rooms for players, first-aid rooms, canteen, public toilets, and a new international-size rugby league field with viewing mounds strategically placed, and of course, a larger clubhouse with more facilities for all of our members and guests.

The Club has continued to progress since this development and commenced a 13 month project in June 2006 which concluded in September 2007 to a value $10,671,234.00. This saw the whole Club renovated and renewed to the current state. Planning is currently well progressed on the Master Plan Stage 2a which will see the construction of Function Rooms, additional Bar, expanded Back of House and Basement areas with an expected value of $5 Million.

Brothers Football Club is a very successful Club in its own right winning the most A Grade Premierships in the Ipswich competition since 1910 with 28. The history books show that Brothers are the only Ipswich Club to twice win 4 successive premierships and on four occasions win all Grand Finals from under 18’s to A Grade in a particular year being 1976, 2006, 2008 and 2011. Brothers Reserve Grade has also proven to be the most successful club in the competition with as of in 2011 being the only club in the Reserve Grade Competition to win six premierships in a row.

The Football Club has adopted a professional attitude and this has instilled into all players the standard that is expected both on and off the field.

Brothers Ipswich is a founding member of the Confraternity of Brothers Clubs of Queensland. The Confraternity’s membership is made of Brothers Clubs throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory. The focus for the Confraternity is the development of Rugby League and the ongoing success of all Brothers Clubs. To achieve these purposes the Confraternity hold two conferences a year at nominated Brothers Clubs. There are some 50 member clubs: 13 Senior Clubs, 19 Junior Clubs, 7 Leagues Clubs, 6 Old Boy Clubs 4 development Regions and 1 Community Club in Ingham. Playing numbers are in excess 6,500 and the Leagues Clubs have a combined membership of approx 98,000.