THE inaugural Moree Rugby Union Club’s black tie ball was hosted on Friday evening.
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About 400 gathered at the town hall for a night of socialising and to support local charity, the Moree branch of Can Assist.
Social committee member, Sam Clifton, said the club hosted the event as they wanted to give back to the local community.
While the committee is still tallying the numbers, and will make an announcement on the total raised in the coming weeks, more than $15,000 was raised at the action and more than $4000 through the raffle.
“Tickets to the night were sold out and we are very pleased with how everything went,” Miss Clifton said.
“We’ve heard nothing but positive feedback so it was a big success,” she said.
There was a range of ages represented on the night with some former teammates using the night as a reunion.
Chair of New South Wales Rugby Union and former Wallaby, Nick Farr-Jones AM, was the guest speaker.
“Nick’s speech was definitely the highlight of the night,” Miss Clifton said.
“He attended free of charge and at quite short notice. He really enjoys supporting country rugby union,” she said.
Farr-Jones complimented the ladies on how well dressed they were, and also spoke about rugby being a game for everyone.
After encouragement from Austin Finlayson, he also made an impromptu visit to the oval the next morning to encourage about 25 local juniors. Each player had their photo taken with the star before they were printed and Farr-Jones signed each one individually.
Miss Clifton said everyone had been asking if there would be another ball next year, but the committee are yet to determine that.
“Everyone had a great night. The band was good, the food was great, the photobooth was a hit and there was a lot of support for the auction. We just want to thank everyone who supported the event by attending or through sponsorship,” she said.
Moree Can Assist president, David Graham, also thanked everyone for their support.
“We are very grateful for the support of the Moree rugby club,” Mr Graham said.
“Events like this are very important as they enable us to continue to support the Moree community and district,” he said.
“We’ve been going for nearly six years and in that time we’ve helped over 700 community members and donated about $80,000 back to the local community.
“Sadly this is something that is much needed, so we are extremely grateful to the local businesses and community members who consider us a worthy cause,” Mr Graham said.
