During 1989 Townsville rugby league administrators successfully hosted a televised National Panasonic Cup match between the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta, attracting 16,000 spectators to the Townsville Sports reserve. This match was such a resounding success, reflecting the passion North Queenslanders had for rugby league, that journalist Doug Kingston was inspired to write a newspaper column suggesting the time was ripe for a North Queensland side to bid for inclusion in the major Rugby League competition, the NSWRL, just like Brisbane and the Gold Coast had done the year before. Some of the region's former rugby league Internationals had also suggested for some time that the North be recognised nationally in this way.