Roma trip a way for Souths to give back

The TJRL season has faced some hurdles in order to see players take the field in 2020.

With almost a month of play under their belts the clubs have settled into the groove of a new COVID-safe playing environment.

One of the feel-good stories of the year has been Roma gathering a team and travelling to Toowoomba each week to ensure their under-15 players get the chance to play.

Southern Suburbs decided to match their enthusiasm, making the selfless gesture of offering to travel to Roma for their scheduled match.

“I found it to be a great gesture from the Souths club to head out west to give the town a home game of junior rugby league,” TJRL president Dan Aldons said.

“They did not have to. The Roma and District U15s side had committed to travel every week.

“On Saturday, the team, their coach, first aid officer and president all made the bus trip to Roma.

“To me, it was a very nice gesture from them.”

The TJRL kicked off three weeks ago with junior teams in the abridged competition from Toowoomba Brothers, Dalby, Pittsworth, Southern Suburbs, Toowoomba Valleys, Roma, and Collegians (Warwick).

In his fifth year as TJRL president, Aldons knows how valuable junior rugby league is.

“It was my vision and my intention throughout these challenging times to do everything humanly possible to make the return to play a reality for our junior rugby league players,” Aldons said.

“We knew the extra effort it was going to put on club officials and volunteers, but it was a challenge we were willing to accept to get junior rugby league back up and running.

“The grounds have been beaming for the fact that the junior rugby league players just loved it. They got to play footy.”

Fixtures continue again this weekend with protocols in place to ensure participants, officials and spectators remain safe.