Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the evening of Saturday 22 February I had the great pleasure of joining Queanbeyan Mayor, Tim Overall, and nearly 7,000 fellow Rugby League fans to witness the return of the Raiders to their original home ground, Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan. The Raiders were hosting a preseason trial game against the Newcastle Knights. The ground itself has been resurfaced and the stands refurbished through a $1.1 million upgrade, of which the Australian government provided $500,000. This is another election promise we have secured for Eden-Monaro.

Despite the threat of wet weather, the crowd turned out to relive those glorious days of yesteryear, when a trip to Queanbeyan for visiting teams meant a brutal welcome to Monaro turf. Unfortunately, the score of Knights 26 to Raiders four was more reminiscent of the very early days of the sons of Seiffert—days when the visitors more often than not treated the local team to a footballing lesson. Nevertheless, we Raiders fans remain ever hopeful that the great days can return, and we fans remain hopeful, too, that Raiders management and the NRL can find more opportunities for the team to host games in Queanbeyan. As the local police noted about this event, 'It was a good family evening.' As a parliamentary friend of Rugby League, I say: may there be more of them. The ground is there, the passion is there, and the crowd will be there if the sports administrators take the opportunity that Queanbeyan's Seiffert Oval presents.