Sport
13 April, 2026
Rest easy, Peter
Peter Connell, who turned the fledgling Oakey Bears rugby league club into a force to be reckoned with in the Toowoomba Rugby League has died at the age of 79.
Under his leadership, the Bears became instantly competitive, making grand finals in 1973 and 1974, before winning four premierships in six years in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1980.
To this day, Connell remains the only Oakey Bears player to have been selected for Queensland, playing for the Maroons in 1975 during the pre-State of Origin days of interstate competition.
In representative football, Connell’s leadership qualities again came to the fore in two Toowoomba victories over Great Britain.
Born into a rugby league family in Gundagai, Peter Connell grew up in Alpha and Emerald.
Older brother Geoff played eight times for Queensland and once for Australia from 1967-69, as well as representing Balmain and Canterbury Bankstown in the Sydney competition.
Peter moved to Toowoomba, playing for Valleys before moving to Oakey for work reasons.
“Oakey were an emerging side. Bob Trott, Col Byers and Trevor Mickelborough needed a leader and got their man in Connell,” veteran journalist Peter Rookas said at the funeral.
“He took young boys and turned them into men.”
Connell, whose toughness on the football field was legendary, once played with 43 stitches in his face.
After retiring from football, Connell became well known for his partnership with Ian Knight, in radio commentary for 4GR, and as co-owners of the Knight and Connell Sports Store.
Following the death of his wife Sharon, Peter’s health declined and he died on March 18th, having lived for several years at Palm Lakes Care Home in Toowoomba.
Peter is survived by daughters, Brooke and Amanda who would like to collate memories of their father’s life from the people he knew and played with.
They have created a Microsoft Office form, which can be accessed through this link: forms.office.com/r/metNj1mVY2
