Murri Rugby League is an annual four day rugby league carnival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queensland rugby league teams. Queensland Rugby League (QRL) has awarded the Arthur Beetson Foundation with the tender for the next three years. The Foundation has employed MRL (Qld Pty Ltd) to event manage the Murri Rugby League carnival.

Giving Back

A significant portion of Arthur Beetson Foundation generated revenue will be invested back into Indigenous Rugby League programs and structures endorsed by the QRL to establish sports focused sustainable community activities.

Murri Rugby League aims to:

• Raise the representation of Indigenous players from the current 11% in the National Rugby League to 15%, an overall 4% growth in participation over a 3-5 year time frame.
• Provide structure in a drug and alcohol free environment for players to have the opportunity to develop a direction into representation at a national level.
• Work with the network of Indigenous communities in Queensland to promote and develop the carnival as a state event.
• Develop a sponsorship alliance which will support the participation of all Communities and contribute to the staging of the carnival as an annual event.

About The Murri Rugby League Carnival

The Murri Carnival is a very important date on the Indigenous calendar and is much more than a rugby league event. The Carnival has certain basic rules. An adult person cannot play in the Carnival unless they: . undergo a health check; and . enrol to vote or, if enrolled, make sure that their enrolment details are current.

An under 15 player cannot play in the Carnival unless they;  undergo a health check; and have a 90% school attendance record.

Each year a number of people are identified as possible suffers of diabetes a disease that shortens the life span of too many Indigenous Australians. In 2014 the under 15 side travelled to New Zealand and a Men’s team travelled to Fiji to play and take part in a cultural exchange. The QRL Indigenous under 15 team also played the curtain raiser to the NRL Indigenous All Star Game at Suncorp Stadium last February 2015 against a New South Wales Koori team.