LONG-time country club supporter Brian Ranse wouldn’t have been a three-time national and world rodeo champion if not for all the Rosewood support.
He remains grateful for everyone at the Rosewood Roosters Rugby League Club and local community for helping him, especially after he was sidelined for months following a motorcycle accident.
The big scar on his left leg provides a reminder of how his rugby league and rodeo careers were impacted before his incredible recovery.
Brian grew up in Katoomba playing junior footy in NSW’s Blue Mountains before moving to Queensland in 1996.
He continued with Norths in Ipswich before stints with country clubs like Rosewood.
However, aged 21, his rugby league career stalled when he came off his motorcycle heading home from footy training in 1996.
He broke the femur in his left leg during the nasty accident.
“It was probably a good six months before I was able to get up and around again,” he said.
After recovering from the ordeal with help from the Tigers, the tenacious bullfighter competed in rodeo where he won three national titles from 1998-2003.
He capped his 15-year rodeo career collecting a World Champion Rodeo Bullfighter honour at the 2005 World Championship Challenge in North America.
Throughout his rodeo, Brian retained strong ties with Rosewood, having first played for the Roosters in 2003. He resided on a 20 acre property in the area for 10 years.
“In the early 2000s, I was living out in Rosewood and to get a bit of fitness to stay competing at the top end of rodeo, I used to train with the Roosters and then just started playing with them as well,” Brian said. “And they were super supportive.
“I was doing a lot of local rodeos and the Rosewood boys would come along and support what I was doing there.
“I had a real good relationship with them.”
After receiving so much Rosewood encouragement in the past and being in a new role, Brian was eager to help the club this year.
Brian is in his first year as Jets A-Grade manager having previously worked with the club’s Colts side.
The former military man helped organize recent Jets matches against West End and Fassifern at the Roosters’ Anzac Park home base.
The Jets have also conducted training sessions and assisted Roosters under 13 and under 15 sides with Brian taking a leading guidance role.
“They (the club) has given me so much over the years,” he said.
“My career in the rodeo was because of the Rosewood people.
“From the football club to just the general people who were around town, they always supported what I did.”
The hooker or lock is back playing for the Roosters C-Grade side this year, being “still reasonably fit”.
“It’s a lot of fun to be out there,” he said.
He is keen to continue building a strong Rosewood relationship, working with Jets coaches Tye Ingebrigtsen and Mark Bishop.
“It’s been a whole club thing,” Brian said.
“We talk regularly about what we want to do and who can facilitate that.
“We’re very keen next season to see what we can do.”
Brian was impressed how the injury-hit Roosters battled hard against a stronger Fassifern team in their recent encounter at Anzac Park.
“It was probably one of the most enjoyable games of footy I’ve played,” said Brian, who works for a Brisbane law firm.
“Fassifern played it in good spirits.
“It was good hard football at times but there was no malice.
“A couple of younger fellas that are inexperienced footballers in Rosewood enjoyed that game.
“That was how we should play country football every week.”
Before his latest Roosters stint, Brian coached the Reserve Grade side for two years and worked with a combined Valley Dragons team.
The Roosters C-Grade side is wrapping up its Rugby League Ipswich season after the club had to withdraw its Reserve Grade team due to a hefty injury toll.
However, Brian was pleased with the regional interest generated at the recent matches involving the Jets at Anzac Park.
“A big part of Ipswich rugby league, from a Jets perspective over the years, has been the country players and the Ipswich players have been part of the Jets,” Brian said.
“Any time we’ve been successful is when we have had a solid DNA of Ipswich players in our Jets organisation and that’s something I’m very keen to get that focus back for us.”
Brian said getting out to help junior clubs – without a lot of money and equipment – and volunteers was important.
“We’ve got that knowledge base throughout the Jets and we need to be passing that on a lot earlier than we have done in the past,” he said.
