Dragons’ NAIDOC honour

INDOOR CRICKET: The Toowoomba Dragons are currently on the charge for a Major League finals appearance, and they’ll look for inspiration against the league’s top team.

The Dragons will be celebrating Indigenous round on Saturday in their home clash against ladder leaders Toombul.

Both teams will be wearing special Indigenous shirts for the occasion, with Toowoomba Indoor Sports cricket co-ordinator Matt Hansson saying it was an important milestone for the club and sport.

“It’s exciting and is our opportunity to show the community that we care,” he said.

“Having Gibbsy (player Kieren Gibbs) involved in our club, he’s a big influence in the community, and to have the opportunity to work with him and the guys who did the artwork has been great.”

Hansson said he hoped that this initiative would be the start of something big, with an eye to league-wide celebrations in the near future.

“They look unreal, and the team at Hip Pocket helped us design them,” he said.

“Six weeks ago we said ‘this is our initiative and artwork, can you turn them into both jerseys?’ Toombul were quick to jump on board.

“We’re hoping this might start a trend and maybe next year they could do an Indigenous round (across the league).”

Gibbs and SWIN played a crucial role in the design of the jerseys and was appreciative of the recognition for Indigenous players.

“Toowoomba is very rich with indoor talent, and a lot of Indigenous players have played over the years,” Gibbs said.

“It’s great that Katrina and Lyle (Teske), and Matt are highlighting and celebrating NAIDOC Week and paying tribute to our people who have come through the centre.

“The designs are unreal and hopefully we get a crowd out there and they look good on the live stream.”

The Dragons come into the contest in fourth, and Gibbs said it was a vital encounter to book their finals spot.

“It’s a big game, and we definitely have to win if we want to sure ourselves in the top four,” he said.

“In saying that, it’s going to be tough. Toombul has a lot of quality cricket players who have represented Queensland and Australia.

“With Lyle being out, we’ll need to be at our best and on top of our game.”

Fixtures get under way on Saturday night from 5.30pm at Action Indoor Sports Toowoomba.

The match will be streamed by Cricket Australia.