With the new year underway, the Queensland State Championships are the first look at elite competition in the season, a chance to put off-season training to good use. It also offers us the opportunity to look at athletes contending for state and national selection later this year, and, with the results of small-boat racing being one of the key tools for selection, the championship men’s pair is undoubtedly an event to keep your eye on.
Kand
Having claimed the men’s pair title in two of the past three State Championships, Kand will be eager to cement their recent dominance. The duo of Tom Coates and Jake Gilmore blends experience with emerging talent, a combination suited to pushing for another podium finish this weekend. The pair reunite after narrowly missing out on a bronze medal in the open men’s four at the Australian Rowing Championships (ARC). Gilmore placed fifth in this event last year, with Tom Coates finishing close behind in sixth. With both athletes’ experience in this event, there is no question that they will be looking to improve on last year’s results.
University of Queensland Boat Club ‘A’
Entering two crews in this year’s event, the University of Queensland will be looking to smother Kand’s streak of gold. The first crew, featuring Lex Tucker and Monty Martin, is undoubtedly one to watch. No strangers to racing together, the pair were members of the Queensland interstate eight that claimed bronze at the ARC in 2025. Martin now returns to the pair following a near miss of the A-final in Poznań at the World Rowing U23 Championships. Having won this event in 2024, these two will set their sights no lower than gold; both their proven chemistry and big-race experience are likely to play a decisive role as the field tightens.
University of Queensland Boat Club ‘B’
The University of Queensland’s ‘B’ crew enters with a slightly less established pedigree, but shapes as the dark horse of the event, featuring two young yet up-and-coming athletes capable of testing more experienced combinations. Joe Thynne, who just missed the interstate podium in the youth eight for Queensland at last year’s ARC, will partner with Emmanuel Koger, who competes in his debut season for the University of Queensland. The two will aim to assert themselves in the field early and hope to cause an upset in this year’s standings.
Toowong
The crew from Toowong Rowing Club features Moss Murphy and Mitchell Bridge, two prominent young athletes looking to establish themselves as an early-season threat. The pair comes off the back of strong 2025 Australian Rowing Championships campaigns, finishing second in the U23 quad, with Murphy also recording a solid result in the U23 pair and Bridge in the U23 double. Bridge returns to domestic racing following his men’s four campaign at the World University Championships in Germany, where the crew placed eleventh, adding valuable international experience to the combination. Together, the Toowong pair will be looking to translate their U23 success into open-grade contention.
University of Queensland / Adelaide University Composite
Finally, the composite pair of Drew Weightman of the University of Queensland and Henry Belcher of Adelaide University rounds out the field. At last year’s ARC, Belcher competed in South Australia’s youth eight, finishing fourth for the second consecutive year, before racing in the men’s interstate eight, where the crew placed fifth. Travelling north to combine with Weightman, both an experienced coach and rower, the ambition of this composite pairing will be to push into the podium positions in this year’s championship men’s pair.
Prediction
Filled with a blend of promise and experience, this race shapes as one of the tighter contests of the regatta. A strong showing from the University of Queensland looks likely, and I’ll tip the ‘A’ and ‘B’ crews to finish first and second, respectively. The bronze medal is a tougher call, but the Toowong Rowing Club pair may just edge out Kand in what should be a fiercely contested battle through the remainder of the field.
