Axel Cutts from Peak Downs Pirates Honoured in Australia Day Awards

On Australia Day, Axel Cutts from the Peak Downs Pirates was awarded the CHRC Northern Region Senior Sportsperson/Administrator of the Year Award at the council’s award ceremony in Capella. Tieri News caught up with Axel to find out more.

Axel, congratulations on being named Senior Sportsperson/Administrator of the Year – what did it feel like to be given this award?

It was very humbling and a big surprise. I don’t seek recognition, but it really did make all the time and effort behind the scenes to run Peak Downs Pirates worth it. 

And I also think that I share the award with all the community members, coaches, sponsors and volunteers that help run the club. There’s a lot of work that people don’t see, and nothing happens without these people.

So, you won the award for your involvement with Peak Downs Pirates. Can you tell us more about what you do there?

Sure. So to go back to the beginning, I grew up in Tieri, playing junior rugby league with Peak Downs Pirates. I used to love playing and also going to watch the adults play on Friday nights and the weekends. 

The club had gone into hiatus for ten years from 2013 to 2023. But I thought there was an opportunity to start it back up again and got together with a friend to get it going again. It’s really nice to come full circle now as an adult and see other people enjoy having a local rugby league team to get behind like I did as a kid.

And since re-establishing the club, how have you been involved?

Officially, I’ve acted as the club treasurer, but because I live in town, I’m also a bit of a jack of all trades helping to run training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then being at the clubhouse on Friday nights to prepare for game day. On Saturdays, it’s game day which is always a great community day out, getting everyone out to get together and support the team, then Sundays I help to make sure everything is cleaned up and put away.

It sounds like the team is really community focused?

Yeah, we really try to give back to the community. We’ve got a few junior teams, which is great to see, and we’ve also helped to raise money for the kindy in town. The Pirates also helped to run the bar at the town Christmas party.

And as well as your work behind the scenes running the club, do you still play?

I sure do. I love playing footy and the contest of it each season. I usually play in the forwards, either front row or lock.

What can we expect from Peak Downs Pirates in 2026?

Watch this space. The next season is due to start just after Easter and we’d love to field some teams again. We know it’s often hard with 7/7 rosters and away games that can be almost two hours drive away. But we think everyone is having a good time and the community involvement is really positive, so please keep in contact if you’d like to be involved with Peak Downs Pirates this year.

Congratulations again Axel and thanks for your time.