TRL MOVES BACK TO FINALS’ HOME
League back at stadium
RUGBY LEAGUE: The Toowoomba Rugby League fraternity has got behind a return to finals football at Clive Berghofer Stadium.
The decision was made at the recent AGM after being held at Glenholme Park this year.
Returning chairman Brian Gilroy said talks with the management of the Toowoomba Sports Ground had been positive with a view to a return to the stadium.
“At this stage with everything being equal we’ll go back to Clive Berghofer Stadium,” Gilroy said.
“We’ve had some really fruitful discussions with the oval. Some of the things we were concerned about are open for discussion and hopefully we can reach a compromise there.”
The finals series is set to start on August 17 with the grand final locked in for September 8.
Clive Berghofer Stadium is a strong chance to be named as venue for the annual Madsen-Rasmussen and President’s Cup fixtures to be held on June 23.
Next season marks a very important milestone for the TRL with the centenary year celebrations, and Gilroy said a big fixture would kick off proceedings.
“The first fixture will be the two foundation clubs, Valleys and Brothers on Saturday night,” he said.
“There will be a season launch on the Friday night as well.”
Other key takeaways from the TRL AGM include:
● A decision on the fate of second division hopefuls Newtown and Texas to be made after a board meeting on Monday evening.
● Pittsworth and Gatton have expressed interest and are set to host fixtures on ANZAC Day against Oakey and Warwick respectively.
● The only change to the current executive of the TRL came with the instatement of Peter Tozer as director after a ballot. Former director Andrew O’Brien will remain as the media officer of the league, while Gary Lawrence and Joe Hannant were unsuccessful in their bid to become directors.
● Two Toowoomba representative sides are set to host the Wests Panthers during the pre-season in February.
● The TRL Indigenous All Stars will take on the TRL All Stars on February 23.
● Planning is under way for a TRL hall of fame to be introduced as well, with clubs given the chance to nominate their “local legends”.