WHAT a night! Almost 200 people gathered at the Delegate Country Club for the highly anticipated Delegate Tigers footy reunion on Saturday evening, February 28.
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A very high spirited atmosphere was enjoyed, with visitors coming from near and far, including Queensland, Western Australia and Sydney. Organisers were also pleased to see so many of the Tigers’ old opponents from Bombala present, as well as representatives from Eden.
Philomena Collins and Denise Nichol were kept busy at the door taking the money and distributing name tags, with the success of the night ensuring a generous donation could be made to the Men of League Foundation and the Bombala Junior Rugby League Club.
The Lions Club marquee provided a great space for dining, where patrons were able to enjoy the great array of cold meats, salads and sweets provided in generous quantity by the local ladies.
Following dinner the official component of the evening commenced with a history of Rugby League in Delegate provided by Philip Reed.
Barry Reed spoke about the many people that are no longer with us who had contributed to the story of local league, and he called for a toast to absent friends.
Doug Cameron then invited past coaches and players who were present to come to the microphone, and a succession of speakers told humorous anecdotes which were well received by the large crowd.
Bill Bateman, club president, thanked the organising committee, and finally Carl Crotty outlined how the reunion developed and snowballed into a very successful night.
The raffle and the auction ably conducted by Philip Reed, assisted by Matt Green of Landmark, was of course one of the highlights of the night.
It included a signed Raiders jumper donated by their Media Relations Officer, Ben Pollock, and various items donated by Matt Schubert, NRL Development Officer; the most sought after being a South’s Jumper signed by Mario Fenech, the Raiders jumper and a Sharks tshirt.
A number of smaller items went into a raffle which was won by Bill Young, a former Tigers player from Cann River.
Finally it was time to auction the Tigers jumper which would soon feature the signatures of all past Tigers players who were present, and for this item bidding was fierce, making this the highest priced item on the night, the successful bidder being Peter Cottrell.
Finally Doug Cameron and Neil Armstrong read out a long list of thank yous to the various people who had donated or contributed in any way to the cause, including those who so kindly lent their photos and memorabilia to the reunion.
Doug Cameron also made special mention of the great effort by the kitchen volunteer crew and the hard working and obliging bar staff, while Roger Baker was thanked for providing an excellent sound system.
The lucky door prize, which was a copy of The Men from Snowy River book donated by the Anzac Centenary Commemoration Committee, was won by Nerida Manning. The second prize a “lucky door” made by Peter Jones was won by Janette Brownlie. The raffle for a load of wood donated by Raymond Jamieson of Monaro Sawmill was won by Renee Stuart.
The Committee who organised this very successful event are to be congratulated for their efforts. They are Trina Manning, Sue Guthrie, Marilyn Callaughan, Joan Jones, Judy Dare, Doug Cameron, Carl Crotty, Philip Reed and Neil Armstrong.
Finally a big thank you to all who helped in any way, and all those who attended. Up the Tigers!