South Toowoomba face Coolaroo at Heritage Oval
Joe McConnell | AFLDD Media
Toowoomba’s iconic Heritage Oval is now home to the South Toowoomba Bombers.
This Friday night in round two of the Allied Pickfords Cup competition, the Bombers and Coolaroo Roos will have the privilege of being the first AFL Darling Downs teams to play on the field.
South Toowoomba club president Mark Peach said the players are thrilled to be a part of the historic game.
“I know the boys are very excited to be playing under the lights at such an incredible facility,” Mr Peach said.
“The field looks absolutely magnificent,” he said.
Bombers head coach Shaun Reardon also said that the addition of Heritage Oval is an immense asset for the club, but may take some time in getting used too.
“It’s pretty exciting for not only the club but the competition entirely,” Reardon said.
“It (Heritage Oval) has potential to be a premier venue in town. It has a great playing surface and great facilities.” he said.
“But in terms of playing it is as foreign to us as much as the opposing teams.”
Friday night’s match will be the opening game of the year for both South Toowoomba and Coolaroo, as heavy rain forced a number of field closures in round one.
This puts even more importance on the Heritage Oval opening, as each team will be looking to start the 2014 campaign on the right foot.
Coach Reardon said despite missing the finals last season he is confident in his team’s ability to compete.
“We are a little in the deep-end having to play the defending grand final premiers in our first game,” Reardon said.
“But we’ve had a great preseason and a number of new faces,” he said.
“Last year I think our main problem was a lack of depth, we’ve fixed that and there will be real competition for playing time in the senior’s side.”
With a positive outlook on the season ahead the Bombers clash with the Roos should be close a encounter.
And although it may be the first AFL game played in quite some time on Heritage Oval, it certainly isn’t expected to be the last.
Mr Peach said he hopes to extend the usage of the grounds to build AFL in Toowoomba.
“Hopefully we can build a relationship with other users of the field and have grand finals held here and even state league games,” Mr Peach said.
The South Toowoomba Bombers will play the Coolaroo Roos Friday April 4 at 7pm on Heritage Oval.
Last Modified on 11/04/2014 08:50
