THOUSANDS of dollars worth of raffle prizes and auction items have been donated to Moree Junior Cricket Club – and they will go under the hammer at a huge sports dinner at the Max Function Centre in Moree on Friday.
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The McGregor Gourlay-sponsored evening will be emceed by Big Sports Breakfast host Jimmy Smith and will 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, represented Australia in all three forms of international cricket – Test, one-day and Twenty20.
McCulloch is captain of the NSW Swifts.
Carter retired from rugby union in 2013 after playing for the NSW Waratahs and representing Australia on the world stage.
“Brad [Haddin] will be training with the boys on the Friday afternoon before the function and Abbey will be at the netball courts as well,” Watts said.
“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.
“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 Friday night will be 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,” Watts said.
“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 a big list 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.”
Raffle and auction items have been donated by Royal Hotel Moree, Suncorp Bank, Tyrepower Moree, Print Anything, Black Truck & Ag Moree, Lummus Moree, B&W Rural, WJ Matthews, Jukes & Son Tyre Centre, Landmark Moree, artist Jo White, Australian Turf Club, Local Appliance Rentals, Ruby Soles, A Tasty Surprise, Lowry’s Small Motors, Beauty Matters Moree, Boland Petroleum, Gwydir Chiropractic Centre, Hill Fitzsimmons and Deluxe Café Moree.
