Rob Brady: a man of the land and Dungowan to the core

The married father of two is a third-generation Dungowan farmer - as rooted to the rural village as a gum tree on the banks of the Peel River.

And on this day, when rain clouds rolled towards the tiny destination, Brady was reluctant to talk about himself, but eager to talk up the success story he helped create.

As the Dungowan Cowboys' longtime president, he oversaw the club's move from the now-defunct second division to first grade in 2018, and their evolution from two teams to four.

The impending launch of a new season brings with it new hope - as the Cowboys chase their debut top-grade premiership while hoping to add to their sole league tag title.

"Now we've got a pretty strong club there," Brady said. "Heaps of players, which is good."

"So I think it makes Kieran and Jack's job a lot easier," he said of Dungowan's new top-grade coaches Kieran Croft and Jack Cameron.

Cameron was a toddler when Brady played for Dungowan in 2001 - the year they reformed following more than two decades in the wilderness.

Around that time, Brady began toiling full-time on his family's lucerne and fat lamb farm, after previously working as a mechanic and then as a truck driver for his late father's transport business.

He had attended Our Lady of the Rosary College, which became McCarthy Catholic College. Now the 56-year-old attends committee meetings.

"I think we've gone ahead in leaps and bounds," he said. "We've got a really strong committee, which definitely helps everyone."