Sport
11 October, 2025
Wolves cash in on tipping donation
STATE Member for Glass House, Andrew Powell, has donated $1,000 to the Stanley River Wolves, after taking home the first place prize money in The Sentinel’s first ever footy tipping competition.
Powell fi nished the season on 131 points, out-tipping all other competitors and earning the right to donate the prize money to a local charity, community group, or sporting club of his choice. He chose the Stanley River Wolves, who recently celebrated a stunning double Grand Final victory.
“Given it was a NRL footy tipping competition, I think it’s only appropriate that I give it to our own living legends when it comes to footy, and that’s the Wolves,” Powell said.
“I thought it might have been a nice way to end the season, but then they went and won both the A grade and the Reserve championship, so they topped my little donation by a long shot.”
Powell, who attended both grand fi nal games, described the atmosphere as electric.
“I was a little bit nervous at halft ime in the A Grade, but I didn’t need to be. A bit like the Broncos, they came home like a steam train. I think I screamed myself hoarse, as did everyone else at the game. It was brilliant.”
He also highlighted the importance of local sports clubs to the community.
“They build community. They’re the community spirit. You just hear it now as they walk along from the front bar at the Woodford Hotel—everyone shouting out ‘Go the Wolves’,” he said.
“They’ve lift ed the whole town, and they do that on a shoestring budget, with volunteers running the show. Anything we can do as a government, or win a footy tipping competition, I’m happy to donate my winnings to these guys, because they do this for the love of the sport, the love of the community, and they deserve all the help they can get.”
Stanley River Wolves president Sam Cooper said the donation would make a real diff erence for the club’s juniors.
“It’s a massive help. We’re a small community club, run by volunteers, and every little bit helps,” he said.
“That $1,000 means I can send two teams away to a carnival. We’ve got two girls’ teams who want to play in a carnival, and that $1,000 will go straight into that, which is fantastic for our juniors and fantastic for our club.”
“Obviously, seniors are a big part of Stanley River, but without our juniors pushing through, the club wouldn’t be what it is. The money will go to the juniors.”
Refl ecting on the club’s recent success, Cooper reiterated A Grade captain Ben King’s famous summary: “we went from the sh*thouse to the penthouse.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of our boys,” Cooper said.
“To win both grand fi nals means so much, not only for the club and myself, but for the community. It’s fantastic.”
Looking to the future, Cooper added they don’t want this to be a one-off win.
“We want to build on it and have our juniors see a pathway,” he said.
“That’s always been our goal as a committee—to give a distinct pathway for our kids to go from under-16s and under-17s through to the senior grade.
“It means a lot to see our kids stay local and progress all the way through.”
