Sports dinner shaping as a huge fundraiser for Moree junior cricket
THOUSANDS of dollars’ worth of prizes and auction items have been donated to Moree Junior Cricket Club to help finance a new white picket fence at Ron Harborne Oval sporting precinct.
And they will go under the hammer at a huge sports dinner at the Max Function Centre on Friday, October 20.
The McGregor Gourlay-sponsored dinner will be emceed by Big Sports’ Breakfast host Jimmy Smith and feature a star-studded line-up of guest speakers, including former Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, Australian netballer Abbey McCulloch and former rugby star Tom Carter.
Moree Junior Cricket Club president David Watts says the sports dinner will be a night to remember.
“We have good numbers at the moment and we still have tickets available,” Watts said.
“I’ve spoken to our four guest speakers and they are all very excited about coming up for the night.”
Haddin, who retired from international and first-class cricket in 2015, has represented Australia in all three forms of international cricket – Test, One-Day International and Twenty20 International.
McCulloch is a member of the NSW Swifts playing in the new Australian league Suncorp Super Netball and currently captains the side.
Tom Carter retired from rugby union in 2013 after playing for the NSW Waratahs and representing Australia on the world stage.
“Brad will be training with the boys on the Friday afternoon before the function and Abbey will be at the netball courts as well – the local netball club will be host to her for the afternoon. Tom and Jimmy Smith will also be down at the cricket nets with Brad,” Watts said.
Moree Junior Cricket Club members with just some of the raffle and auction items that will be up for grabs at the McGregor Gourlay Sports Dinner at the Max Function Centre on Friday, October 20 (Image Copyright Bill Poulos).
“There will be cricket training for the kids and Tom will do a bit of rugby training, throwing the ball around and that sort of thing.”
All money raised on October 20 will put back into cricket in Moree, and will help pay for a white picket fence recently erected at Ron Harborne Oval.
Contractors IK Fencing sunk fence posts, with a huge crew of cricketing enthusiasts from the Moree junior and senior cricket clubs installing the panels.
“It all looks fantastic and the new wicket is also looking a picture. It will all get used for the first time this Saturday for the first round of cricket for both juniors and seniors,” Watts said.
The new cricket oval will also be used on October 22 for representative cricket.
“The compliments we have received from members of the community have been amazing – it just makes the whole precinct look like a sporting ground,” Watts said.
Funding for the project was raised jointly by local cricket clubs and Moree Plains Shire Council.
“We went 50-50 with council,” Watts said.
“We have been raising money for a while now and we are continuing to raise money. That’s what our sports dinner is all about, and we will be putting that money towards paying for our share of the fence.
“We are also looking at sight screens and a scoreboard. Any money we’re raising at the moment is going straight into the Greenbah sporting precinct,” Watts said.
Tickets to the McGregor Gourlay sports dinner, available from A Tasty Surprise on Balo Street, are just $100 per head and include complimentary beer and wine between 6pm and 7pm, hor doeuvres, a main meal and a dessert plate.
“We have 15 auction items – all donated to us from various businesses and organisations throughout the community – and we have two really good auction items that Jimmy Smith organised for us through the Australian Turf Club,” Watts said.
“One of those is for four people to Randwick races and the other is for four people to Rosehill races.
“They are great race-day prizes that include a beverage and food package and entry to the members’ bar for a day out at the races in Sydney.”
Items for auction include cricket bats signed by Dennis Lillee and Michael Clarke (donated by Suncorp Bank), Ironman 50-litre Ice cube fridge-freezer (donated by Tyrepower Moree), 2.4-metre advertising sign that includes design and print (donated by Print Anything), Engel 45-litre fridge-freezer (donated by Black Truck & Ag Moree), Kincrome toolbox (donated by Lummus Moree), pack of goodies (donated by B&W Rural), Kubota petrol brushcutter, Kubota tow-behind big wheel trailer, two Hella LED Spotlights, 12-litre compression sprayer and a two-litre Compression sprayer (donated by WJ Matthews), four 265/75 x16 Bridgestone Dueler A/T tyres (donated by Jukes & Son Tyre Centre), 1000-litre shuttle of Panzer 450 Glyphosate (donated by Landmark Moree), 76cmx76cm acrylic on canvas painting It’s a Gentlemen’s Game Acrylic on Canvas (donated by Jo White), race-day packages to Randwick and Rosehill (donated by Australian Turf Club) and a mystery auction item to wrap up the evening.
Raffle prizes include a 50-inch Hisense flat screen smart TV (donated by Local Appliance Rentals), Hard Case suitcase (donated by Ruby Soles), four-person picnic basket (donated by A Tasty Surprise), Bushranger petrol blower (donated by Lowry’s Small Motors), $300 Royal Hotel dining room voucher, Beauty Pack (donated by Beauty Matters Moree), $100 fuel voucher (donated by Boland Petroleum), therapeutic pillow (donated by Gwydir Chiropractic Centre), two $75 fuel vouchers (donated by Hill Fitzsimmons) and a $50 coffee voucher (donated by Deluxe Café Moree).
Raffle tickets are available from A Tasty Surprise, WJ Matthews, Agriware, Major Metals as well as this Saturday morning at Moree junior cricket’s opening round at Ron Harborne Oval.
Words and Image: Bill Poulos