When former Narrabri Rugby League Football Club player and current sponsor and fan Justin Smith first decided to host an auction night to raise funds to help support the Blues’ return to the field in 2026, he was hopeful that they might raise a few thousand dollars to give the club a much-needed boost.
But last Thursday night at the Tourist Hotel, the local rugby league community and some of Smith’s generous JA Smith Solutions suppliers absolutely blew that out of the water as $20,000 was raised to support the club’s comeback.
There were plenty of prizes donated by many of those suppliers, who were involved in JA Smith Solutions’ trade show during the day, and from ICCONS Pty Ltd’s Phil Rose’s $5000 bid on a Narrabri Blues Anzac jersey to some generous cash donations, the crowd came together during an entertaining night to help raise an impressive total.
NRL legend Shane Webcke lived up to the hype and kept those in attendance entertained with some memories and wise words, and he wrapped up the night well with a speech that challenged the club to put in the hard yards to get back on the park.
The Blues’ first grade coach Hayden Bell was full of praise for Smith, his team at JA Smith Solutions and everyone in attendance, and said the funds raised would be a major boost for the local club.
“It was an unreal night. It was really good to see the town and our sponsors and supporters and the suppliers that were there get behind us,” Bell told The Courier.
“Coming from a point where we didn’t have a team this year and having to go back to the drawing board, sometimes you have those thoughts where you’re like, ‘do we really think this is going to happen?’.
“Thursday night reassured us that the support from the town is there. They showed they are going to get behind us and rally us, and I think that’s really at the forefront now.
“The community is behind us and the Group is behind us, and everything is falling into place.
“$20,000 is just huge for us. We missed out on financials from this season like canteen and bar takings and things like that, so this puts us back into a ball park where we’re back financially and we’re ready to kick on for the season.
“Shane Webcke being there was a bit surreal too, to be honest. He was a bit of a hero for me growing up.
“To get to have one-on-one conversations with him about what makes a successful team and asking him some questions about how to move forward as a club, getting those answers was really good, coming from a bloke like him.
“It was a great night.
“Everyone knows Justin and what he does, not only for his business, but he’s a community man. Narrabri Rugby League Football Club is his heart and soul. He was a player there, and he has seen tough times and great times.
“For him to be able to come on board and be able to help us like this is just outstanding. We are really grateful.”
Smith echoed Bell’s thoughts that it was both a successful and entertaining night.
“It was a great evening. Unbelievable,” Smith told The Courier.
“Shane Webcke is an absolute gentleman and scholar. He’s unreal.
“He was awesome at our trade show, then at the auction, he moved around and had a chat with everyone. He had chats about rugby league and what it meant to people.
“We then did a bit of a Q and A panel, and I asked him a few questions. He talked about Queensland’s success for about 20 minutes.
“We wouldn’t have raised the money we did if the Blues’ supporters didn’t turn up the way that they did.
“A lot of the money was raised by our suppliers, and they got right behind it because they felt the passion and the support of our town.
“Going into it, if we had’ve got $3000, I would have been happy, and if we got $6000, I would have been stoked.
“It was quite the evening.”
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