BRING IT ON: Bidgee’s Kurt Wilton (left) and Kieran Cates (right) together with coach Chris Bamford (middle) are keen to take to the field this weekend for their first match as the new entity.
THE Bidgee Hurricanes will create history in Group 20 tomorrow night as they play their first competition game as they host the Griffith Black and Whites under lights at Narrandera.
Alongside the joint-ventures first regular season game is the fact both sides will be desperate to prove a point to the rest of the competition. Hurricanes’ Dave Cohen said new playing coach Chris Bamford is the perfect leader for the new club as they look to establish their new identity.
“I think he’s powered ahead with the fitness training this pre-season and all of the ball work he has been doing with the guys, he’s very professional,” Cohen said.
“The biggest thing that has come out of the merger is that we know have a bigger junior base, which was one of he big things that we wanted.
“And we have more people on the ground which will be a big help this season and moving forward.
“So we’d like to say a huge thank you to Narrandera, both business and individuals in relation to their sponsorship and support of the new club, because there is a real buzz over there at the moment.”
Black and Whites coach Ben Mahon admitted he side will be walking into a hostile environment, saying the Hurricanes will like to make the trip to Narrandera one of the hardest in Group 20.
“We played them at the knockout and they seem a pretty tough bunch of guys this year, and they’ll be keen to get a win first up for them,” Mahon said.
“So we’ll be have to be on our game going over there because it’s the first home game for Narrandera for a long time as well, so there’ll be a good crowd there for them.
“We’re known for having fast starts as well, so we’ll be keen to rip in and have a go from the start as well.”
Steve Broome is racing the clock to be fit for Griffith, while in a blow before the first kick-off, New Zealand centre Marcus Toi broke his jaw in two places against Waratahs in Doug Alpen Memorial and is likely to be out for the year.
