Queensland Wheelchair Rugby League coach Jack Brown will be cheering for the brother who inspired him to take up the sport when Great Britain's Wheelchair Basketball team tips off at the Paralympics.
Harry Brown will represent Great Britain at his third successive Games and Jack, the 2019 IRL Golden Boot winner and a member of England's 2022 World Cup winning team, will be supporting him from North Queensland.
“I owe Harry so much,” said Jack, who is hoping to make what has become an annual trip home to England to link up again with his World Cup winning team-mates for another battle with France on October 26.
“All the amazing things I’ve got to do in rugby, and some in basketball myself – it’s all down to Harry.”
Blink and you'll miss him
Harry lost his legs as a baby after being diagnosed with meningitis – leading Jack to develop his remarkable skills in a wheelchair throwing a ball about with his brother.
“It’s wonderful that our sport – Wheelchair Rugby League, and to an extent basketball as well - could allow us to play together, or against each other, and then of course it’s let me carry on doing the rugby without him,” Jack continued.
“When I speak to people over here in Australia, and tell them about Harry, they’ll say that’s so bad – I’ll say what are you sorry for, it’s given us so much. Thank you for losing your legs, Harry.”
After narrowly missing out on selection for the 2012 London Paralympics when he was a teenager, Harry has been a member of the GB squad who have taken bronze in each of the last two Games in Rio and Tokyo.
“He’s not about the flash plays,” says Jack. “He’s about speed, and fast breaks, and an excellent defensive player, because his first push is so powerful.
“We used to play together at Leeds Spiders, then he went to Sheffield for a while.”
Harry even made a one-off return to Wheelchair Rugby League with Halifax Panthers in the Betfred Wheelchair Super League this season, scoring six tries as they beat the reigning champions Wigan Warriors.
“I only watched the first half – apparently he killed it in the second,” joked Jack, who has also relished the development of another relative, Joe Calcott, in the Panthers team – as well as the growing competitiveness of the league as a whole.
“Joseph is really new, he’s still learning the sport, but he’s been showing good promise with Halifax. He’s working his way through the sport in his own way – I’d love to see him playing for Ireland later this year.”
Jack has had a new focus on developing Wheelchair Rugby League in Queensland and other parts of Australia since he relocated to Townsville four years ago.
New South Wales had dominated the annual Origin encounter before he arrived, with a seven-match winning run, but the balance of power has now shifted to such an extent that Queensland claimed their fourth consecutive win earlier this year.
Jack Brown electric with eight tries
“Now we’re going for seven – at least,” added Brown, who believes the recent confirmation of a Wheelchair competition when Australia host the 2026 Rugby League World Cup can turbocharge the sport Down Under.
“2026 is exciting. Travel is challenging over here – our closest team is Brisbane, and that’s a 16-hour drive," he said.
"But they do have the massive advantage of the profile of Rugby League over here. And Wheelchair Rugby League is starting to benefit from that.”
Not that Jack’s involvement in Wheelchair Rugby League in Australia has made any difference to his international allegiances.
“It’s going to be really difficult for them to beat England in the World Cup,” he said with a smile.
And for the next couple of weeks, he hopes to be cheering Harry to more British success in the Paralympics.
