There’s almost enough of them to start their own team but these three sets of brothers are proudly calling the Canungra Owls home, just as they have since their junior days.
Reilly, Murphy and Josh Baker; Mitchell, Jimmy and Lachlan Tomlinson; and Jeremy, Zac and Cameron Mansfield are all suiting up for the Owls men’s team this season, with Cameron also serving as Club President.
While Cameron didn’t play juniors alongside his younger brothers, he said watching the full circle moment unfold has been special.
“I’m a bit older, so I didn’t get to play juniors with them, but my younger brother played with a few of the other boys,” he said.
“It’s pretty good to see it all come together now that we’re all in seniors.”
The Mansfield brothers have been part of a senior men’s squad that’s remained consistent over the years, even reaching two grand finals and winning a minor premiership.
“We haven’t won it all yet, but we’ve come close, finals footy is never easy,” Cameron said.
He said the family connections throughout the team and the club in general, help create a tight-knit, supportive culture.
“The core of the team’s been around a long time. Once you’re in, you’re in,” he said.
“Having so many brothers definitely adds to it. We’ve avoided a lot of the issues that other teams face because everyone knows each other – if things get tense, it usually gets resolved pretty quickly.”
As President, Cameron said one of his main goals is ensuring future generations have the same opportunities that his family had growing up.
“There was always something happening at the club when we were kids,” he said.
“Now it’s about making sure today’s juniors have those same chances and hopefully we see more families come through like ours.”
While all nine brothers haven’t taken the field together yet, Cameron said the team has managed to get eight of them on the field at once.
“It’s tough with work and other commitments, but yeah, we’ve had eight this year,” he said.
“If we can ever get all nine on the field, that’d be pretty cool.”
Cameron believes family-run clubs like the Owls are the heartbeat of local sport, powered by volunteers and a shared sense of community.
“Everything we do is volunteer based. It’s the families that keep it going,” he said.
“And for the juniors coming through now, I hope our story shows them what’s possible, you can go from playing here as a kid to running the club one day.”
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