A friend once told me you could compare positions in rugby league to roles in the church. At the time, I thought it was a clever thought. But last Sunday, that simple comment came flooding back to me with new depth and clarity.
I was at St Anthony of Padua Parish in Austral for what Archbishop Anthony Fisher described as a “triple feast”: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the feast of St Anthony of Padua, and the parish’s 60th anniversary. The church was packed—faithful filling every seat inside, standing in the aisles, and spilling out into the courtyard and grassed areas beyond.
And as I looked up at the sanctuary—at the Archbishop, a number of priests, and a deacon —I started to see it more clearly: this really is a team. Each person had their role. Each was contributing something irreplaceable.
Then, as Father Ronnie Maree delivered a stirring final address that sent goosebumps down my arms—the kind that makes you feel like a soldier listening to his general—it hit me again: the priest truly is the halfback of the church.
Think about it. On the footy field, the halfback is the general. The shot-caller. He sets the direction of the team, makes the tough calls, and puts players in the right positions to succeed.
If the halfback is firing, the team can score points. If he’s off, everything falls apart. He doesn’t just think about the next play—he sees the bigger picture, planning sets ahead, adapting the game plan, and keeping the whole side aligned.
That’s the priest. Especially at the parish level, he’s the playmaker—the one entrusted with leading his flock.
He sees not only what’s needed for Sunday, but what his parish can become in five, ten, twenty years. He’s constantly looking for ways to help his community encounter Christ and glorify God more fully. And within the boundaries of the church, he executes that vision—calling the plays, setting the tone, and living the example.
But no halfback can do it alone.
Just like a rugby league team needs every player pulling their weight, every priest needs the backing of his community. He needs people willing to carry the load, defend the truth, support the mission, and pray without ceasing. If we want strong parishes, we need to back our priests—not just with applause, but with real support, deep prayer, and shared purpose.
Because the priest doesn’t just lead his people to weekly wins or losses. He leads them either to the eternal victory or the eternal loss.
As St John Vianney said, “A priest goes to Heaven or a priest goes to Hell with a thousand people behind.”
So we pray for our priests—that they may remain faithful to their vocation, bold in their leadership, and confident in the eternal value of their work. And we pray that they take up the role of the halfback with the seriousness it demands—so that they may reach Heaven, and lead a thousand people behind them.
That Sunday in Austral, I saw a church at its best. A packed house, a spiritual leader calling the shots, and a community ready to follow. That’s what a winning team looks like. That’s what the church was made to be.