Cowboys COVID-19 staff casualties take to civil

The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ Gold Stars inaugural QRLW season was just one round old when elite pathways coach Ben Jeffries received the news of a club-wide stand-down due to COVID-19 in early April. Suddenly, hectic days spent managing the Cowboys Academy and coaching the club’s first women’s team turned into concerns on the home front, with no timeline on a return to work and a family to support. Determined to create more stability in a time of great uncertainty, Jeffries applied for contract work with club major partner BMD Group, joining a small group of Cowboys football staff keen to take on a new challenge and keep a pay cheque coming in. After successfully landing a DIDO (drive-in-drive-out) labourer position, Jeffries began work on Adani’s Carmichael Rail Network in the Galilee Basin near Belyando, around 200km north-west of Clermont. Five weeks on and the incumbent coach for the Queensland Under 18 Emerging Origin girls QAS squad is still working with BMD, with the prospect of returning to his Cowboys role a hope on the horizon as restrictions ease. Ben Jefferies, Cowboys' elite pathways coach, on the tools “I consider myself very fortunate to have this opportunity – it has given me a lifeline but is also great experience while we’re waiting to see what happens next,” he said. Cowboys chief executive officer Jeff Reibel and his executive team have steered the club back to competition and been able to reinstate a number of roles, with around half of the club’s workforce still on stand-down. Reibel said that just days after news of the impact of COVID-19 on club operations, partners BMD Group and Adani had notified the club of vacancies and invited its people to apply. “We couldn’t ask for more from our partners,” he said. “We’re very proud of our five staff who took up this opportunity, and of our entire team for the integrity and resilience they’ve shown through this, regardless of their circumstances.” Reibel also welcomed the news of BMD’s civil construction works contract for Adani’s Carmichael Rail Network. “This is great news for our region and for two important partners of our club, and we’re delighted that we could be part of it,” he said. BMD group executive director – operations Scott Power said he was proud that BMD was in a position to be able to offer opportunities to employees of their long-time partners. “Over our 40-year history, we have proudly supported the people and communities in which we operate, and we will continue to partner with like-minded organisations such as the North Queensland Cowboys to ensure we play a part in a strong and sustainable Queensland into the future,” he said.

Cowboys COVID-19 staff casualties take to civil

Industry Queensland

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