Sergeant Matthew Minz was the Officer in Charge at Tara Police Station when Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold went to a welfare check in Wieambilla in December.
They didn’t return – having been ambushed on the property by two men and a woman, in what’s since been officially declared as a religious terror attack.
Today, Sergeant Minz was captain of a team of Queensland Police officers who took to the field in a rugby league charity day supported by Nine, raising money for the McCrow and Arnold Remembrance Fund.
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After the match, Sergeant Minz said the past few months had been “hell”.
“Matty and Rach were both my officers, my friends – this has been deeply personal for me,” he told Darren Lockyer for Nine.
“Honestly, [this was] the most gut wrenching thing in my life.”
He said the support not only from within the force, but from the wider community had been amazing.
“I’d like to thank my family who were there for me, my colleagues, and the police in the blue team and the greater community, everyone in Queensland just reached out and the outpouring of love from them is what’s got me through … it’s just been amazing mate, just beautiful.”
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Minz’s Dream Team won the final game of the day over the Police All Stars 30-20.
Earlier, Queensland Police commissioner Katarina Carroll – who was given honourary kick-off duties to start the first match – said the day was important not only for the police but also for the wider community.
“The police are the community and the community are the police,” she said on Nine.
“The outpouring of support for our police has been tremendous and I really think it goes a long way to that grieving process.
“I thank everyone who has been involved with this – there are so many people who have given their time, the whole community has made for a wonderful day.”
In the earlier matches, the Arthur Beetson Future Immortals side packed with former NRL stars including Willie Tonga, Nathan Blacklock, Justin Hodges, Petero Civoniceva and Neville Costigan downed the QPS Legends 26-18.
The earlier women’s game between the Police Dream Team and All Stars was drawn 12-all.
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