From The Field To The Page

Alan Power, First Australian Fullback Frank Drake, Tony Price and John Short at a Brisbane Brothers Old Boys function in Brisbane. Photo supplied: Tony Price.  

‍

Long-time Whitsundays local Tony Price has spent a lifetime around rugby league, but in recent years he has made it his mission to preserve the stories, clubs and competitions that helped shape the game across Queensland.  

‍

Tony’s latest release, A History of the Confraternity Shield (1980–2025), brings together more than four decades of school rugby league history in one official publication.

‍

The 284-page hardcover features more than 450 photographs, tracing the rivalries, teams and moments that have helped make the Shield one of rugby league’s most recognised schoolboy competitions.

‍

Tony’s path into writing came later in life, after a battle with throat cancer in 2013 left him looking for something new to focus on.

“I decided then: Well, I don’t know what I’m going to do. So I decided to write a couple of books,” Tony said.  

‍

What began as a personal project soon grew into a steady run of commissioned histories, with clubs, schools and rugby league organisations approaching him to record their stories.

‍

Since then, Tony has written 15 books and around 80 magazines, covering everything from Whitsunday Rugby League and Mackay Rugby League to North Queensland and Queensland rugby league history.

‍

The appeal isn’t solely about rugby, with Tony loving the art of preserving stories that might otherwise disappear.

“History is what I like doing,” Tony said.

‍

“I’d rather write about the old stuff.”

Tony’s connection to rugby league in the Whitsundays was built long before he began writing about it. Having played the game as a young man, he went on to help grow junior rugby league across the region, including starting Cannonvale Airlie Beach Junior Rugby League and coaching school teams at Cannonvale State School, Proserpine State High School and St Catherine’s Catholic College.

‍

That same hands-on involvement has shaped much of Tony’s life in the area.

With family ties to the region dating back more than a century, Tony has spent decades working, volunteering and serving the district, from owning Proserpine Tyre Service and the Palace Hotel in Proserpine to building a service station and tyre service in Cannonvale. He also served two terms on Whitsunday Shire Council and sat on the board of Tourism Whitsunday.

‍

His focus will now turn to his upcoming release, A History of St Brendan’s College Rugby League (1940–2026), which will trace the story of one of the Confraternity Shield’s most successful teams and its long connection to the game.

The book is expected to be released around mid-September, continuing Tony’s work of preserving rugby league history for the players, schools and communities who helped shape it.