Rugby History – Damien Barker
Playing Career
Illustrious career including:
Nudgee 1sts and a GPS premiership
Over 200 1st grade games including Teachers-Norths Premiers in 1976
Queensland Reds 1972 to 1974 – 12 games
Brisbane 1972 to 74 – 5 games
Coaching Career
Teachers-Norths Brisbane 1 st grade, 1976 to 1978, Premiers 1976;
Teachers-Norths Premier Colts 1981
Various school coaching roles
Sunnybank Juniors 1993 to 2000
Australian Schoolboys A team 1997 & 1998; Australian Schoolboy selector 1997 to 2000
St Francis College First XV, 1998 to 2001
Always willing even in retirement coached Terrace Yr 6 teams
Administration
Southside Schools Rugby Competition 1974 to 1986
Founding father of the QRU Queensland Secondary Schools Rugby in 1987 (organised for rugby to be a school sport affiliated with Queensland Secondary School Sport and played throughout Queensland across 10 regions)
Chair of Queensland Schools Rugby 1995 to 2018 (amalgamation of Queensland Schools & Queensland Secondary Schools occurred in the early 2000s)
Founding organiser of the Ballymore Cup with John Brew now played as a pre-season competition for all schools.
Formed with John Brew the Logan Schools Rugby Union Competition during the late 1990s and early 2000s
Formation of SECA Sports Competition – Brisbane Catholic Secondary Colleges (10 Colleges) sports competition – Queensland Schools teams management from 1986
Member of the Queensland Reds Academy Planning Group
Member of the Queensland Rugby Union Community Rugby Advisory Committee
Member of Rugby Australia’s National School Strategy Committee from 2016.
Member of the Queensland School Sport Council/Board 2010 to 2018
Brisbane Norths Rugby Foundation Committee 2016 to present time;
Senior Vice-President of Australian Schools Rugby Union 1995 to present
Awards
Life Member of Norths Rugby Club in Brisbane
Life Member of Queensland Schools Rugby
Life Member of Queensland School Sport
Queensland Reds Volunteer of the Year Award 2012
Life Member of the Queensland Rugby Union 2023
Career
Principal, St Thomas More College, Sunnybank 1983 to 1989
Principal, St Francis College, Crestmead 1990 to 2001
Senior Education Leader at Brisbane Catholic Education 2001 to 2017