Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about a great local sporting club in my electorate: the Concord Briars Cricket Club. Founded ten years ago, the club is an excellent example of a community focused sports club that provides a huge benefit to local cricket fans both young and not so young. When the club was founded, they started with three teams and have now grown to 27 teams, including 18 competitive teams. In a great result for this last season, eight of those teams made it to the grand final and four brought home their premierships. The Briars Cricket Club also runs a juniors MILO Have-A-Go program for kids between four and six, no doubt nurturing sporting champions of the future. With 260 local kids playing from under 8s to under 16s and three men's teams, and run on the good will and hard work of volunteers, the club holds a special role in many local households.

All of this could not be possible without the sponsors, including Briars Club, Crust Pizza North Strathfield, Jim and Kate Spevis, TLE Electrical and, of course, the leadership of Chris and Anne Burt, Leanne Hewgill, Matina Moffitt, Roland Stanmore and the rest of the team. Well done to Briars. It was a pleasure to join them at their presentation night two Sunday nights ago to see the future of Australian sporting talent on display. I was so proud. The parents were sitting at the back of the room; to have a beer with them afterwards is always good fun. To Burtie and all the team at Briars: a hearty congratulations.